More than 9,000 weekend flights canceled
Minara Helen: Airports across the U.S. have canceled over 9,000 flights for the weekend as parts of the country brace for what’s expected to be a major winter storm, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware on Saturday.
American Airlines had the largest number of canceled flights at 1,546 between Saturday and Sunday. Southwest canceled 1,243 flights and Delta canceled 911 flights. American stated that it has added 3,000 extra flights between Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport, the airline posted on the social platform X.
Delta has canceled flights across Texas and the Southeast, including Delta’s Atlanta hub, and into the Northeast, the airline posted on X.
“With Winter Storm Fern approaching, our teams are monitoring conditions and adjusting flight schedules where necessary,” Delta stated in a separate X post. “We encourage customers in affected areas to move their flights at no charge to before or after the storm.”
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport had the largest number of flights canceled as of Saturday morning with 49 canceled and two flights delayed, FlightAware’s “Misery Map” showed.
Over 9,000 flights have also been delayed due to the storm, FlightAware’s data shows.
The cancelations and delays come as around 140 million people from New Mexico to New England are under a winter storm warning, The Associated Press reported. The National Weather Service warns of widespread heavy snow and catastrophic ice stretching from east Texas to North Carolina.
The hardest hit regions could see between 24 and 30 inches of snow accumulation, with the large area forecast expecting between 6 to 12 inches of snow, AccuWeather reported. Some areas could see the storm stretch for 36 to 48 hours before dry Arctic air “overwhelms and turns off the snow later this weekend to early next week,” forecasters added.
Central Maryland, West Virginia’s eastern panhandle and Virginia’s northernmost point could see heavy snow before and after any ice mixing, forecasters said.
The region could see between 12 and 18 inches of snow accumulation, and parts of northeastern Pennsylvania, central and eastern upstate New York and central New England could see similar accumulations with pockets of 18 to 24 inches.
Widespread freezing rain are expected to parts of the Southern Plains, the lower Mississippi Valley, the Tennessee Valley, the Southeast and the Mid-Atlantic, the National Weather Service said in a statement.
“Long-duration power outages, extensive tree damage, and extremely dangerous or impassable travel conditions are likely,” forecasters said in their statement. “Catastrophic impacts are expected where freezing rain amounts exceed one-half inch, with locally over one inch of ice accumulation possible in parts of northern Louisiana, central and northern Mississippi, southern Tennessee, and the southern Appalachians.”
Sleet accumulations between 1 and 3 inches are also expected south of the Southern Rockies and Plains through the Mid-Atlantic, the National Weather Service added. Snow and sleet could impact travel conditions and prompt closures, “some of which may persist for several days,” forecasters said.
Utility companies are also expecting disruptions caused by freezing temperatures. Portions of the Midwest could see wind chills as low as minus 40 degrees, increasing the risk of frostbite, the AP reported. Freezing temperatures are expected to be in the teens, single digits and below zero as the storm passes and after, increasing the risk of icy conditions early next week.
On Friday, President Trump posted on Truth Social that “FEMA is fully prepared to respond” after he was “briefed on the Record Cold Wave and Historic Winter Storm that will be hitting much of the United States this weekend.” He added that the administration was coordinating with local and state officials. “Stay Safe and Stay Warm!” he wrote.
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