A state of emergency is often declared ahead of major winter storms. This explainer breaks down what it does, how it helps officials prepare and what it means for the public.

The snow has begun in New England and many Western Mass communities have parking bans in effect and have cancelled school Monday.

According to the Oncor outage map, restoration time is expected to be done as early as 8:30 a.m. and as late as 7 p.m. The outage comes as a portion of North and Central Texas is under a widespread winter storm warning and an ice storm warning through Sunday5.