Red Crossers respond as bitter cold continues; weather shuts down more than 500 blood drives

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Thomas Thomason, a Nashville native, arrived at a nearby Red Cross shelter with his roommates after temperatures dropped and he lost power at his home. Thomas’s roommates were able to secure a place to stay with a friend. Thomas, however, chose to remain and help. "I've spent a lot of time volunteering and being around people who weren't dealt the same hand as me,” he said. “I am here because this feels like I am giving back in a sense. People come here because they don't have people to look out for them. It's like a sense of community being here and being able to help those who can't help themselves at times like these.”

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Dinner is served at a Red Cross shelter in Tupelo, Mississippi. You can find shelter locations on redcross.org, the free Red Cross Emergency app or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767). You can also follow your local Red Cross or emergency officials on social media, sign up for free local government alerts or monitor local news.

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Ice covers trees in Mississippi, forming a canopy of cold. A new winter storm this coming weekend threatens to bring significant snow, strong winds and possible coastal flooding from the Carolinas to New England where people are still trying to recover from last weekend’s winter onslaught.

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Meet Garth and his fur-baby, Shante’, who found shelter at the Southeast Community Center in Antioch, Tennessee, after a winter storm left hundreds of thousands without power, many of whom are still without electricity nearly a week later. If you need to visit a Red Cross shelter, our shelter workers will do everything they can to accommodate household pets.

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The American Red Cross and our partners still have warming centers and emergency shelter locations open throughout Tennessee to support residents during this winter storm. Pictured here are relief and shelter supplies on hand as the response continues.

February 02, 2026

Blood supply critically low. Give blood now.

Check here for steps to take to help you stay safe during this extreme winter weather.

NEWS SUMMARY:

The Red Cross launched a massive response across multiple states as the two weekend storms dumped heavy snow from the Midwest to the Southeast and East Coast. With our partners, more than 2,200 trained Red Crossers opened or supported more than 150 shelters, providing more than 14,400 overnight stays. We also served more than 187,000 meals and snacks and distributed almost 35,000 relief supplies. As the extreme cold continues, we are prepared to reactivate shelter operations as needed.
The weather continues to affect the national blood supply. The number of blood drive cancellations attributed to weather continues to grow. Since January 23, more than 500 blood drives have been canceled in nearly every state where the Red Cross collects blood, leading to 20,000 blood and platelet donations going uncollected. Individuals are urged to give blood now. Visit redcrossblood.org for more information

After back-to-back weekends of fierce winter storms slamming into the eastern half of the country, the region is facing bitter cold temperatures and wind chills from Florida to the Northeast. The American Red Cross remains on the ground, helping people impacted by the extreme cold.

Meanwhile, the brutal winter weather continues to affect the national blood supply. The number of blood drive cancellations attributed to weather continues to grow. Since January 23, more than 500 blood drives have been canceled in nearly every state where the Red Cross collects blood, leading to 20,000 blood and platelet donations going uncollected. More blood and platelet donors are needed now. Individuals who are not impacted by the storm are urged to give now to prevent disruptions in patient care. The Red Cross urges those in areas experiencing severe weather to give when it is safe for them to do so. Book an appointment now to give blood by using the Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Full details here on the current critical blood shortage.

DEEP FREEZE CONTINUES With the departure of the intense storm responsible for dumping more than a foot of heavy snow near the coast of North Carolina, arctic air remains engulfing much of the eastern U.S., the South, and especially Florida. This has resulted in an extremely rare situation in which it is colder across the Sunshine State than over Montana in the depth of winter. Extreme Cold/Freeze Warnings remain in effect early this morning across much of Florida into southern Georgia/Alabama, portions of the Carolinas and southeastern Louisiana. Temperatures will remain below normal for early February over the Florida Peninsula while a reinforcing surge of arctic air will move into the Great Lakes toward the Ohio Valley Tuesday into Wednesday morning.

More than 112,000 customers still have no power across Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and North Carolina. Visit here to learn what you should do when the power is out.

RED CROSS RESPONSE The Red Cross launched a massive response across multiple states as the two weekend storms dumped heavy snow from the Midwest to the Southeast and East Coast. With our partners, more than 2,200 trained Red Crossers opened or supported more than 150 shelters, providing more than 14,400 overnight stays. We also served more than 187,000 meals and snacks and distributed almost 35,000 relief supplies. As the extreme cold continues, we are prepared to reactivate shelter operations as needed

Check here for steps you should take to help you stay safe during this extreme winter weather.

HOW YOU CAN HELP Help people affected by disasters like storms and countless other crises with a Red Cross Disaster Relief donation by visiting redcross.org, calling 1- 800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small, whenever and wherever they occur across the country.

FIND A SHELTER With our partners, we are opening or supporting warming centers and overnight shelters. You can find shelter locations on redcross.org, the free Red Cross Emergency app or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767). You can also follow your local Red Cross or emergency officials on social media, sign up for free local government alerts or monitor local news.

All disaster assistance is free. We don’t ask for identification, and you don’t have to stay overnight. We encourage people who plan to stay in a shelter to bring prescription medications, extra clothing, pillows, blankets, hygiene supplies, other comfort items and important documents.

We do everything we can to accommodate service animals and pets comfortably in our shelters. Sometimes, pets may need to be housed in a different location with support from local partners.

Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) Thanks to the dedicated commitment of our American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and Disaster Responder members, the Red Cross stands ready to act at a moment’s notice. Their forward-thinking generosity keeps us prepared for crises of all kinds, ensuring we can be there wherever and whenever we’re needed most.

Mission Leader Members: Amazon; American Airlines; Bank of America; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Costco Wholesale; Dollar General; Lowe's; State Farm

ADGP Leaders: Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Caterpillar Foundation; Chick-fil-A; CMA CGM Foundation; Delta Air Lines; Enterprise Mobility Foundation; FedEx; Honda; Lilly Endowment Inc.; McDonald’s Corporation; Merck; Nationwide Foundation; PetSmart Charities; The Pfizer Foundation; The Starbucks Foundation; Takeda; Truist Foundation; VSP Vision; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; Wells Fargo Foundation

ADGP Members: ALDI; Altria Group; Aon; Baxter International Foundation; Bread Financial; Capital One; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Danaher Foundation; Darden Foundation; Delta Dental; Edison International Foundation; Elevance Health Foundation; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Ford Philanthropy; Fox Corporation; GE Aerospace Foundation; General Motors; Google.org; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; HCA Healthcare; The Home Depot Foundation; The J.M. Smucker Company; Johnson Controls Foundation; The Kroger Co. Foundation; Liberty Mutual Insurance; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Marathon Petroleum Corporation; Mastercard; Microsoft; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; Northrop Grumman Foundation; NTT Data; Paul Davis Restoration; PayPal; PepsiCo Foundation; Stryker; Suburban Propane; Target; The Winn-Dixie Company; The TJX Companies, Inc.; Toyota; United Airlines; UPS; USAA; U.S. Bank Foundation; Visa Foundation; The Walt Disney Company; The Wawa Foundation; Wesco; Wingstop Restaurants; Zoetis Foundation

Disaster Responder Program Members: 3M; 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe Foundation; The AES Corporation; Aflac; Albemarle Corporation; The Allstate Foundation; American Family Insurance; American Water Charitable Foundation; Ameriprise Financial; Assurant; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation; Barclays; Bath & Body Works; Build-A-Bear Foundation; Canadian National Railway; CarMax; CDW; Charles Schwab Foundation; Cisco and Cisco Foundation; CNA Insurance; The Coca-Cola Foundation; The Deluxe Foundation; DENSO North America Foundation; DHL Supply Chain; The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation; Dollar Tree; Duke Energy; Eli Lilly and Company Foundation; Enbridge; Equitable ; Erie Insurance; Farmers Insurance®; Fastenal; Grainger; HP Foundation; International Paper; Invitation Homes; John Deere; Johnson & Johnson Foundation; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation ; L'Oréal Groupe; The Labcorp Charitable Foundation; Lenovo ; LKQ; Macy’s, Inc.; Major League Baseball; Martin Marietta; Masco Corporation; McKesson Foundation; MetLife Foundation; Mutual of Omaha Foundation; NextEra Energy, Inc.; Nike Foundation; Norfolk Southern; Northwestern Mutual; Novartis US Foundation; Old Dominion Freight Line; Old Republic International Corporation; Oxy; Pacific Life Foundation; Phillips 66; Prudential; QBE Foundation; Qualcomm; Raymond James; RBC Foundation USA; Reckitt; Reynolds American Inc.; RGA Foundation; RTX; Ryder System, Inc.; Salesforce; Security Finance’s Lending Hand Foundation; ServiceNow; Southwest Airlines; Stanley Black & Decker; Sunbelt Rentals; T-Mobile; Tennant Company; Toyota Tsusho America, Inc.; Uber; U-Haul International; Uber; Ulta Beauty Charitable Foundation; US Foods; Westlake Corporation; Yum! Brands; Zurich

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on social media.