what is this winter storm called

The current major winter storm impacting large parts of the United States in late January 2026 is widely being called “Winter Storm Fern.”

Quick Scoop

• There is no official government name for this system; agencies like the U.S. National Weather Service generally do not name winter storms.

• The widely used name Winter Storm Fern comes from The Weather Channel , which runs its own internal naming program for significant winter storms affecting the U.S.

• In news articles, forecasts, and many online discussions, references to “Fern” are talking about this late-January 2026 event bringing heavy snow and ice across dozens of states.

So, if you’re seeing headlines or forum posts about the current winter storm, the name people are using is Winter Storm Fern.

Note: Official alerts where you live will usually say things like “Winter Storm Warning” or “Ice Storm Warning,” not “Fern,” even though media and forums use that name.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.