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SUN · 2026-02-01 · 17:53 GMTBRIEF NSR-2026-0201-12484
News/More winter weather leads to heavy snow, canceled flights an…
NSR-2026-0201-12484News Report·EN·Environmental

More winter weather leads to heavy snow, canceled flights and, in Florida, falling iguanas

Winter weather in the United States in early February 2026 brought heavy snow and icy conditions to many areas, even reaching as far south as Florida. The cold temperatures caused iguanas in Florida to become stunned and fall from trees.

By  ADRIAN SAINZAssociated Press (AP)Filed 2026-02-01 · 17:53 GMTLean · CenterRead · 5 min
More winter weather leads to heavy snow, canceled flights and, in Florida, falling iguanas
Associated Press (AP)FIG 01
Reading time
5min
Word count
1 229words
Sources cited
0cited
Entities identified
7entities
Quality score
100%
§ 01

Briefing Summary

AI-generated
NEWSAR · AI

Winter weather in the United States in early February 2026 brought heavy snow and icy conditions to many areas, even reaching as far south as Florida. The cold temperatures caused iguanas in Florida to become stunned and fall from trees. Warming centers in the Atlanta region opened to provide shelter for people experiencing homelessness. Measures were taken to protect frost-sensitive plants in Florida, such as using sprinklers to cover them in ice for insulation. The widespread winter weather also led to flight cancellations in affected areas.

Confidence 0.90Claims 4Entities 7
§ 02

Article analysis

Model · rule-based
Framing
Environmental
Human Interest
Tone
Measured
AI-assessed
CalmNeutralAlarmist
Factuality
0.90 / 1.00
Factual
LowHigh
Sources cited
0
No named sources
FewMany
§ 03

Key claims

4 extracted
01

Warming centers across the Atlanta region are opening their doors to people experiencing homelessness.

factual
Confidence
1.00
02

Iguanas stunned by cold weather in Florida were seen fallen from trees.

factual
Confidence
1.00
03

More winter weather leads to heavy snow and canceled flights.

factual
Confidence
1.00
04

Massive blankets of snow and ice are expected in parts of the US this weekend.

prediction
Confidence
0.90
§ 04

Full report

5 min read · 1 229 words
More winter weather leads to heavy snow, canceled flights and, in Florida, falling iguanas 1 of 7 | As temperatures drop below freezing, warming centers across the Atlanta region are opening their doors to people experiencing homelessness this weekend. 2 of 7 | Massive blankets of snow and ice are expected in parts of the US this weekend, with frosty conditions seen as far south as Florida. Iguanas stunned by cold weather in the Sunshine State were seen fallen from trees on Sunday. 3 of 7 | As temperatures dipped below freezing, sprinklers spray water over frost sensitive plants covering them with ice to insulate them from the cold at DeWar Nurseries Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Apopka, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) 4 of 7 | An iguana stunned by the cold lies immobile on a house deck, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in South Miami, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) 5 of 7 | Alex Taylor, 23, and his dog Daisy, make their way down a snowy hill in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco) 6 of 7 | Icicles cling to oranges at a grove Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Plant City, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) 7 of 7 | Icicles cling to a barbed wire fence surrounding an ornamental plant nursery Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Plant City, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) 1 of 7 As temperatures drop below freezing, warming centers across the Atlanta region are opening their doors to people experiencing homelessness this weekend. Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 2 of 7 Massive blankets of snow and ice are expected in parts of the US this weekend, with frosty conditions seen as far south as Florida. Iguanas stunned by cold weather in the Sunshine State were seen fallen from trees on Sunday. Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 3 of 7 As temperatures dipped below freezing, sprinklers spray water over frost sensitive plants covering them with ice to insulate them from the cold at DeWar Nurseries Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Apopka, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 4 of 7 An iguana stunned by the cold lies immobile on a house deck, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in South Miami, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 5 of 7 Alex Taylor, 23, and his dog Daisy, make their way down a snowy hill in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 6 of 7 Icicles cling to oranges at a grove Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Plant City, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 7 of 7 Icicles cling to a barbed wire fence surrounding an ornamental plant nursery Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Plant City, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A huge swath of the U.S. from the Gulf Coast into New England was mired in extra-cold temperatures Sunday after a bomb cyclone brought heavy snow and hundreds of flight cancellations to North Carolina, flurries and falling iguanas in Florida, and more misery for thousands who are still without power from last weekend’s ice storm in the South.About 150 million people were under cold weather advisories and extreme cold warnings in the eastern portion of the U.S., with wind chills near zero to single digits in the South and the coldest air mass seen in South Florida since December 1989, said Peter Mullinax, a meteorologist with weather prediction center in College Park, Maryland.The Tampa-St. Petersburg area in Florida saw snow flurries and temperatures in the 20s in the Panhandle and 30s in South Florida on Sunday morning, Mullinax said. That left cold-stunned iguanas lying prostrate and motionless on the ground. Iguanas in South Florida go dormant in the cold and though they usually wake when temperatures warm, the reptiles can die after more than a day of extreme cold. The cold also left ice on strawberries and oranges in the state. Farmers in Florida sometimes spray water on fruit trees and berry plants to protect them from the cold. Meanwhile, the bomb cyclone, known to meteorologists as an intense, rapidly strengthening weather system, contributed to nearly a foot (30 centimeters) of snow in and around Charlotte, North Carolina’s largest city. The snowfall represented a top-five snow event all time there, Mullinax said. Flight cancellations exceeded 2,800 in the U.S. on Saturday, with another 1,500 on Sunday, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking and data company. About 800 of those Sunday cancellations were for flights departing or arriving Charlotte Douglas International Airport.The storm caused an hours-long mess on Interstate 85 northeast of the city, after a crash left dozens of semitractors and other vehicles backed up into the evening, according to the State Highway Patrol. More than 1,000 traffic collisions and two road deaths were reported, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein said Sunday. “It’s an impressive cold shot, for sure, and there are daily records that are being seen down in the South,” Mullinax said. Snow blanketed the neighborhood of Lee Harrison, an insurance agent in a town outside of Greenville, North Carolina, and he planned to take his three daughters sledding in the backyard.“We’re not gonna drive anywhere,” Harrison said. “It’s thick enough that I would not feel comfortable driving with our family.”Also in North Carolina, officials said an unoccupied beachfront house in the Buxton community on Cape Hatteras collapsed in heavy surf Sunday.More than 110 deaths connected to the wintry weather and storms have been reported around the U.S. since late January. In Tennessee and Mississippi, two states struck last weekend by a storm carrying snow and ice, more than 97,000 customers were still without electricity on Sunday, according to the outage tracking website poweroutage.us. Another 29,000 didn’t have power on Sunday in Florida. Nashville Electric Service said it expects 90% of its customers to have power restored Tuesday, with 99% getting electricity back by next Sunday, two weeks after the ice and snow storm hit.Gov. Bill Lee said he shared “strong concerns” with leadership of the utility, which has defended its response and said the storm was unprecedented. Mississippi officials said it was the state’s worst winter storm since 1994. About 80 warming centers were opened and National Guard troops delivered supplies by truck and helicopter.Mullinax said parts of the Carolinas are going to be “digging out” for several days as they contend with gusty winds and bitterly cold wind chills. Heading into Tuesday and Wednesday, light snow could fall in the Ohio Valley and the mid-Atlantic, from Washington D.C. and possibly into New York City, he said.Trân Nguyễn in Sacramento, California, Julie Walker in New York and other reporters from around the country contributed.
§ 05

Entities

7 identified
§ 06

Keywords & salience

10 terms
winter weather
1.00
falling iguanas
0.90
heavy snow
0.80
florida
0.80
freezing temperatures
0.70
canceled flights
0.60
warming centers
0.60
frost sensitive plants
0.50
homelessness
0.50
ice insulation
0.40
§ 07

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