BRAVE MAG

A bitterly cold Arctic air mass has made its way to the South on Jan. 15, providing the fuel for a small but potent snowstorm across portions of the South and the East over this coming weekend.

"A coastal storm will deliver snow to part of the southeastern United States on Sunday Jan. 18 before eyeing the mid-Atlantic coast and New England on Sunday night," saidAccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski in an online forecast.

The forecast, which has been debated on social media by wishcasters and meteorologists alike, would not be the dump of record-breaking snow that hit the Florida Panhandle on Jan. 21, 2025, where up to 10 inches of snow was recorded in Escambia County.

As far as the amount of snow that falls in the eastern parts of Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, as well as farther up along the mid-Atlantic coast and into southeastern New England, that will depend on the exact track of the storm, as a small shift can make a big difference,Sosnowski said.

Overall, however, "there is an increasing chance − greater than 50% − of "some snowfall" from the Florida panhandle through southeast Georgia into the Carolinas," notedWeather Trader meteorologist Ryan Mauein an email to USA TODAY.

Will it snow in Florida?

Snow is expected to begin in the Florida Panhandle and southern Georgia Saturday night (Jan. 17), but temperatures may be too high for snow accumulation. By the time it is cold enough, the storm may be moving away, according to AccuWeather.

Farther north, precipitation looks to be snow over interior locations of the Southeast and along the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast coasts, theNational Weather Servicesaid in an online forecast.

How much snow will fall?

Areas from the Florida Panhandle to the Carolinas could see some snow on Sunday Jan. 18, but the odds for more than an inch aren't high, according toWashington Post meteorologist Ben Noll, writing on X.

"Warm grounds and marginally cold air temperatures will work against a big event," he said.

United States weather alerts

The interactive map below shows all of the weather alerts (warnings, watches and advisories) currently in effect from the National Weather Service. This map is updated every 15 minutes.

Cold air the main story

Regardless of snowfall, cold air is expected to continue across the South, Weather.com reminds us, "Be prepared to protect your pipes, plants and pets," saidWeather.com meteorologist Jonathan Belles.

A freeze watch is in effect for areas from Northeast Florida and the Big Bend into east Central Florida, and inland areas of the west coast for Thursday night, Jan. 15, into Friday morning, Jan. 16. South Florida is bracing for temperatures south of Lake Okeechobee dipping into the low 30s and coastal areas hitting the high 30s to low 40s.

More:Watch out! Low Florida temperatures could cause falling iguanas

Doyle Rice is a national correspondent for USA TODAY, focusing on weather and climate.

Contributing: Kimberly Miller, USA TODAY Network - Florida

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Will it snow in Florida? Arctic blast in forecast for US South.

San Francisco will offer free childcare to families earning less than $230,000 a year, and a 50% subsidy to those earning up to $310,000, in an expansion of the city's childcare offerings designed to makeone of the world's most expensive citiesmore affordable for residents.

San Francisco's mayor, Daniel Lurie,announcedthe initiative as part of his "Family Opportunity Agenda" on Wednesday, alongside a package of housing, education, food, healthcare, transportation and other programs focused on affordability.

"Today marks the beginning of a powerful effort to reduce the cost of living for San Francisco families by tens of thousands of dollars each year," Lurie said in a press release announcing the subsidies. "We're committed to making San Francisco a place where families can stay, grow, and build their future."

Democrats such as Lurie have seized on opportunities to respond to the affordability crisis across the United States in recent months, even as Donald Trump calls affordability "a hoax". In his first week in office, New York's new mayor, Zohran Mamdani,announceda program offering free childcare to all of the city's two-year-olds, alongside a program led by Governor Kathy Hochul to invest in offering universal childcare to all children under age five in the state by August of 2028.

In November,New Mexico became the first state in the nationto offer free childcare to all its residents.

While many cities calculate eligibility for benefits based on national federal poverty guidelines, San Francisco generally uses area median income to calculate the cost of living. In 2025, thefederal poverty levelnationwide was $32,150 for a family of four, while thearea median incomefor a family of four in San Francisco was $155,850.

San Francisco's measure will make childcare free for a family of four making less than $230,000 a year, or 150% of the area median income, and offer a 50% subsidy to families earning less than $310,000 a year, or 200% of the area median income. Previously, free childcare was available to families earning less than 110% of the area median income.

The Children's Council of San Franciscoestimatesthat the average cost of childcare in the city is between $20,000 and $30,000 per child each year. Andthe Economic Policy Instituteranks California fourth out of 50 states and the District of Columbia for most expensive infant care. According to the Institute, infant care for one child would take up more than 18% of a median family's income in California; and care for two children could take up close to 30% of a family's income.

According to US Department of Health and Human Services guidelines, childcare is only considered "affordable" if it takes upless than7%of a family's income. Even for families earning six-figure salaries in the Bay Area, that goal is far out of reach. The mayor's new childcare proposal brings that 7% just within reach, even for families earning what would be an extravagant salary elsewhere in the country.

San Francisco will use unspent tax dollars collected after voters approved Proposition C, or "Baby Prop C", in 2018, which was delayed by an ultimately unsuccessful court challenge. The unspent funds amount to more than $550m. Families will be able to access free or reduced-cost childcare from more than500 providerscitywide.

"Affordable, high-quality childcare is essential for families to stay in San Francisco, but the cost can make it really challenging," said Ingrid X Mezquita, the director of the city's department of early childhood. "This is a big step toward making San Francisco a place where families can thrive."

A set of recently released polls found Americans largely at odds with the Trump administration and its defense of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agentwho fatally shot Minneapolis woman Renee Good.

AQuinnipiac University pollfound 53% of registered voters saying the shooting of Good was not justified, 35% saying it was justified and 12% with no opinion. Over 9 in 10 Democrats and roughly 6 in 10 independents said the shooting was not justified, but over three-quarters of Republicans said it was.

Similarly, aCNN pollfound a 56% majority of Americans saying the shooting was an inappropriate use of force, with just 26% saying it was appropriate. Another 18% said they hadn't heard enough to say. About half (51%) said that the fatal shooting reflects bigger problems with the way ICE is operating.

The CNN poll also found 51% of Americans saying ICE enforcement actions were making cities less safe, with 31% saying they were making cities safer and 18% saying ICE was having little effect on safety.

Minneapolis ICE shooting live updates

There's a partisan split here, with 82% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents saying ICE enforcement was making cities less safe and 67% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents saying it was making cities safer.

More Americans said in the CNN poll that they were concerned about crackdowns against those protesting deportations (47%) rather than the protests getting out of hand (37%).

And Americans voiced little trust in the federal government to carry out a fair and thorough investigation of the shooting in Minneapolis, according to the CNN poll, with 62% saying they had just some or no trust at all -- including nearly half (47%) who said they had no trust at all. Just 17% said they trust the government "a great deal" to investigate the shooting.

In all, according to the Quinnipiac poll, 82% of U.S. voters have seen the video of Good being fatally shot by the ICE agent.

Approval ratings on ICE, Trump's handling of immigration, Noem

The Quinnipiac poll found 57% of voters disapproving of how ICE is enforcing immigration laws, with 40% approving, largely unchanged from Quinnipiac's previous polling in July. Most Democrats and independents disapprove of how ICE is enforcing laws; most Republicans approve.

A 58% majority disapproves of how Trump is handling immigration, while 42% approve, exactly the same as CNN measured in July.

'A beautiful light': Renee Good's family mourns her death amid push for 'transparency' after ICE shooting

The same poll found a slim 52% majority of Americans saying Trump's efforts to deport immigrants living in the U.S. illegally have gone too far, 31% said they have been about right and just 16% said they have not gone far enough.

The CNN poll found 61% of Americans disapproving of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's handling of her job, with just 38% approving -- worse than what Quinnipiac found among registered voters, more of whom voiced no opinion than in CNN's poll (36% approved, 52% disapproved).

TheQuinnipiac pollwas conducted Jan. 8-12 among 1,133 registered voters and has a margin of error of +/- 3.7 percentage points.

TheCNN pollwas conducted Jan. 9-12 among 1,209 U.S. adults with an error margin of +/- 3.1 percentage points.