ABC David Muir fans beg 'stay safe' as he returns to the show with 'catastrophic' news
ABC World News Tonight viewers have been left in a state of stress as David Muir and Whit Johnson reported on 'a state of emergency' for 200 million Americans.
03:25 ET, 23 Jan 2026
It was a tense start to ABC World News Tonight when David Muir kicked off the show with a breaking news announcement.
The 52-year-old ABC journalist was back doing what he does best after taking the weekend off, but it was a bittersweet moment as he came bearing a series of warnings and concerning figures.
Addressing viewers at home, David began, 'Good evening. We begin tonight with a state of emergency across several states, at least 10 states and counting, as a monster storm set to hit nearly 200 million Americans, more than half the country, with heavy snow, crippling ice, and brutal cold moving in.
The slow-moving storm, staggering in size, is expected to stretch 2000 miles, from New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, across the south, moving into the Carolinas, and then up the east coast to the Northeast, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, and New York City.
Tonight, authorities are preparing for the potential of more than a foot of snow. Snow and strong winds will create near white-out conditions.
One of the major concerns with this storm is the dangerous ice. Authorities warn it could cause widespread power outages. Texas Governor Greg Abbott says the state's power grid is ready, but warns local outages are possible. We've reported on what happened to the grid in Texas before.
In New York City, 2,000 snowplows and salt trucks are getting ready, loading up massive salt piles. Families from Oklahoma City to Charlotte are stocking up on supplies, with grocery store shelves going empty. Airlines are already canceling flights.
Just before we came on, Delta canceled flights in at least five states before the storm even hits. Lee Goldberg has the forecast, and this dividing line to pay close attention to tonight will determine who gets socked with snow and who doesn't. And Whit Johnson is now in the States of emergency already tonight.
Whit then reiterated the dangers to viewers in his live report, showing harrowing clips of thunderstorms hitting New York and scenes of thick snow blanketing streets. He also warned that the icy storm could result in temperatures feeling like minus fifty and below due to the blistering winds set to hit.
The extreme cold will strain power grids and lead to blackouts, Whit stressed before concluding his report, airing back to David in the New York City studio.
The breaking news segment was shared on ABC World News Tonight's Instagram account, where fans vented their concerns. One user penned, 'Prayers! Stay safe,' with a second person echoing, 'Damn. I've never heard of anything like this in my life. Prayers for all down south and the East Coast.'
'Please take your pets inside and shelter the animals you can from a few days if possible,' another person advised, with a fourth seconding, 'Please help the pets that will be stuck outside!!!!!' followed by tearful emojis.
A fifth chimed in, 'Thunder and lightning during a snowstorm, the f--k,' while another user shared, 'To me, I take it as a sign that mother nature is telling all of us to sit down and shut up, don't move, relax because this world is in total chaos.'
