batters

1 of 3 | A young boy sleds down the Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., during a winter storm on Sunday. Heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain are expected across large parts of the United States as the dangerously cold weather causes major power outages and travel disruptions. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 25 (UPI) — An estimated 10,000 flights have been canceled and more than 600,000 people are without power as a wicked weekend winter storm rolls across the country.

Winter Storm Fern, has spread ice and heavy snow across 34 states in the last two days, having already buried areas from Arizona, Texas and other parts of the Midwest and Deep South laid into the Northeast overnight Saturday.

Forecasts on Sunday morning predicted that more snow, sleet and freezing rain is expected across a wide swath of the Eastern half of the United States, warning of extensive tree damage and widespread power outages that could potentially last for days, The Weather Channel reported.

In a three-day short-range forecast discussion, the National Weather Service said it expects heavy snow to fall in areas from the Ohio Valley to the entire Northeast and potentially “catastrophic” ice accumulation from the Lower Mississippi Valley to the mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions.

Forecasters also said there is a “slight risk” of severe thunderstorms over the Central Gulf Coast on Sunday.

Roughly 200 million people have been affected by the winter weather, which has sent wind chills into the negative 20s and sustained temperatures as much as 40 degrees below their average, NBC News reported.

Aside from the East Coast getting blanketed with snow, icing in States from Texas to Tennessee have been hardest hit by blackouts.

The Washington Post reported that officials are concerned about an area from northeast Georgia north to the Carolinas and Virginia that could be at risk for blackouts amid expected ice and snow storms over the next 24 hours.

Around 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, Flight Aware reported that more than 2,200 flights had been delayed and more than 10,600 flights cancelled within, into or out of the United States.

Through Monday morning, the National Weather Service has predicted up to 18 inches of snow over New England and at least half-an-inch of freezing rain in parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Ohio/Tennessee Valleys.

Areas from the Southern Plains to the Northeast will also contend with “bitterly cold temperatures and dangerously cold wind chills” that are expected to cause havoc on travel and infrastructure for a “prolonged” period,” the agency predicted.

Lake effect snow will also be seen moving southeast from Central Canada, while showers and severe thunderstorms could potentially menace the Central Gulf Coast, forecasters said.

Justin Gaethje survived a ‌five-round war with a relentless Paddy Pimblett to claim the interim UFC lightweight ‌ championship by unanimous decision in a bloody and bruising fight in Las Vegas.

The experienced American’s win put an end to Pimblett’s nine-fight winning run at the UFC 324 main event on Saturday, but Gaethje paid tribute to the Liverpool fighter’s durability ⁠and heart.

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“Now that Scouser does not get knocked down,” he said after judges scored the ‌ fight 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46, which saw MMA’s rising star walk away with his head held high.

“He is very dangerous, got great timing… young ‌ kid, dangerous kid. I had to steal his momentum and his confidence,” Gaethje said.

Pimblett struck first in the opening round but the tide quickly turned when Gaethje cracked him with a heavy left-handed punch. The American followed ‌ him to the ⁠mat with punishing ground strikes before the Briton scrambled back to his feet.

A right hand dropped Pimblett to the canvas again in the second and he was lucky to survive the round as Gaethje pounded away until the horn sounded.

However, despite bleeding from the nose and cuts to his face, Pimblett strung together some clean flurries in the third round that had Gaethje wobbling, with the round ‌ briefly paused after a low blow had the 37-year-old American grimacing.

The ‌fourth round swung back in Gaethje’s favour after he absorbed some early pressure, repeatedly finding his target with heavy right hands.

The roaring crowd were on their feet as the final round began and an early slip ‌from Gaethje opened the door for Pimblett, who unloaded a barrage of punches.

Gaethje answered in trademark fashion with a booming right ‌hand and both fighters pushed hard for the finish, ⁠with Pimblett closing with a strong final burst.

Pimblett showed grace in defeat.

“I know how tough I am, I don’t need to prove it to anyone. I wanted to leave with that belt, but there’s no other man ‌I’d rather lose to than ‘The Highlight’,” Pimblett said.

“Gaethje is someone I’ve loved watching growing up, watching the UFC. It shows why he’s a legend right there. I thought 48-47 was ‌ a fair scorecard.

“You live and you learn. I’m 31. I’ll be back better, it’s as simple as that. You haven’t seen the last of me.”

Gaethje’s win gave ‌ him his second career interim ‌ lightweight championship and sets up an undisputed title fight against Ilia Topuria, who stepped away last November amidst mounting personal issues but is expected to return at some point in 2026.

The loss was Pimblett’s first in UFC since joining from his native England, snapping a nine-fight winning streak and dropping him to 23-4-0 in his career.

Sean O’Malley, one of ‌ UFC’s biggest stars, ⁠ended a two-fight losing skid in the co-main event with a controversial unanimous decision victory over Song Yadong of China.

Meanwhile, Waldo Cortes-Acosta of the Dominican Republic defeated Derrick Lewis by knockout at 3:14 in the second round. ‌

In women’s fights, Natalia Silva of Brazil defeated Rose Namajunas by unanimous decision in a potential flyweight title eliminator, ‌although the controversial outcome was met with unanimous dismay from a Vegas crowd that clearly believed Namajunas did enough to pull off the upset against Silva.

The performance marks Silva’s 14th straight victory and her eighth ‌consecutive in the flyweight division to improve her overall record to 20-5-1. More importantly, it may ⁠line her up for a title shot against Valentina Shevchenko later this year.

The opening fight of the main card saw heavily favoured Brazilian fighter Jean Silva rebound from his loss against Diego Lopes in September, defeating England’s Arnold Allen in a slugfest that was decided in the third round on two of three official scorecards.

Dominick Cruz, a two-time Bantamweight champion and the division’s inaugural belt holder, was announced as the first member of UFC’s 2026 Hall of Fame class at the conclusion of the prelim show. Cruz will be inducted into the “Modern Era Wing”, which honours fighters who debuted after the first sanctioned UFC event under unified rules was held on November 17, 2000.