DHS Mandates National Drill: Simulating Terror Attack During Polar Vortex to Test Infrastructure

The newly proposed Weatherizing Infrastructure in the North and Terrorism Emergency Readiness Act of 2025 (WINTER Act) is pretty straightforward: it tells the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to run a massive, complex drill that tests how prepared we are for a nightmare scenario.

The Ultimate Stress Test: Terror Meets Polar Vortex

This bill mandates that the Secretary of Homeland Security design and execute a national exercise simulating a terrorist attack that occurs during an extreme cold weather event, like a polar vortex. Think of it as a double whammy: a coordinated attack designed to fail critical infrastructure—like the power grid or water treatment plants—at the exact moment when the weather is most likely to kill people.

Why this specific scenario? Because the bill recognizes that when infrastructure fails during extreme cold, the effects are not isolated; they cascade. Losing power in July is inconvenient; losing it when it’s -20°F is life-threatening. This exercise is designed to test those “cascading effects” on essential services (Sec. 2).

Who’s at the Table, and What Are They Testing?

This isn’t just a DHS internal meeting. The drill must involve a massive cast of characters: federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial agencies, plus private sector partners who actually run the infrastructure. The goal is to test how they coordinate their response when everything is going wrong at once (Sec. 2).

For the utilities manager running the local power co-op, this means figuring out how to restore service when lines are iced over and the repair crews might be targeted. For the local emergency manager, it means practicing how to set up warming centers when the roads are impassable and communication systems are down. The exercise must focus on strategies to mitigate the damage and rapidly boost community resilience—which, in plain language, means getting people warm and safe fast.

Accountability and the After-Action Report

Once this high-stakes drill is complete, DHS has a tight deadline: within 60 days, they must report back to Congress. This report must detail the findings, outline immediate and long-term action plans based on what they learned, and suggest any new laws needed to fix the gaps they found (Sec. 2).

This reporting requirement is key. It ensures that the exercise isn't just a box-checking exercise; it forces DHS to translate the lessons learned into concrete operational changes. While the bill notes that classified information will be protected, the public benefit here is clear: getting a clearer picture of our vulnerabilities and forcing a plan to fix them. The cost of running such a massive, complex exercise will be significant for DHS and its partners, but the cost of not being prepared for this specific, high-impact threat is far greater.