The systems affected most of the area with heavy snows, ice, and cold temperatures causing extensive damage and transportation disruption for several thousand travelers.

[2] The severe winter events started on 10 January when a large dome of cold air enveloped most parts of China, causing much precipitation in the form of heavy snow west of the coastal areas, where the temperature dropped to slightly below 0 °C (32 °F).

After the first wave of precipitation had passed, the snow continued to fall for several days, accompanied by bitterly cold weather.

In Chenzhou, which has a population of 4.6 million, it was reported that the entire city had no power or water for nearly two weeks, including government buildings and hospitals, while telecommunications cables and Internet networks were also damaged.

Beginning 1 February, all of Shanghai's skyline night lights were shut off to support relief efforts and were not resumed until the storm was declared officially over.

Many travelers took refuge in an emergency shelter at the China Import and Export Fair exhibition center where at times the mass of people was about the size of three to four entire football fields.

Goods were distributed to stranded travelers, including free water bottles and lunch boxes of rice, chicken legs, and cabbages sold at about a dollar each.

Water transportation was also affected as 10 boats at the Shanghai port which contained goods were stuck and unable to unload because of the snow.

The Chinese Public Safety Ministry mentioned that about 1 million police officers were dispatched to keep the roadways open but numerous trucks were stranded in many areas.

Three electricians were killed in Hunan while attempting to remove snow and ice from power lines and were named "revolutionary martyrs" by the government.

Insurance companies across the country received tens of thousands of compensation cases including half a million from the hardest-hit regions.

[15] Analysts also mentioned that extensive loss of crops (of over 40,000 km²) including fresh vegetables and fruit resulted in substantial inflation of food prices.

[33][34] The winter weather may have been responsible for a 7% drop in the Shanghai Composite Index due to concerns about the effects of transport breakdowns and power shortages.

However, the storms happened at the same time as significant worldwide stock market volatility was occurring due to concerns of a recession in the United States.

[24][33] The winter storms marked the largest national mass mobilization since the 2003 SARS crisis and are comparable in size to the relief efforts of the 1998 Yangtze River Floods.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao issued an apology to citizens regarding the situation in a publicly-televised appearance at a railway station in Changsha, Hunan.

The severe weather also led to an emergency meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, chaired by General Secretary Hu Jintao, to discuss ways in order to control the situation.

[14] About 300,000 troops and 1.1 million reservists were deployed to assist relief efforts and snow removal across various parts of affected regions.

[9] On 1 February, Premier Wen held a State Council meeting to discuss matters related to the snowstorms, and immediately afterward flew out to Hunan to inspect relief efforts.

According to the China Meteorological Administration, there are plans to invest nearly 2 billion yuan (US$300 million) for the improvement of the weather forecasting work, which was reportedly approved by the State Council.

The Chinese Meteorological Administration also added that officials were not expecting such a lengthy episode of severe winter weather with an extensive impact across a large area.