Thousands of flights were canceled across the US as major winter storms hit
Over 9,000 flights across the USand the departure at the weekend has been canceled as the big storm that was expected to wreak havoc across the country, threatens to knock out electricity for several days and attack highways.
About 140 million people were under a winter storm warning from New Mexico to New England. The US National Weather Service forecast warns of widespread heavy snow and a catastrophic snowpack from east Texas to North Carolina.
Forecasters warned that damage, especially in areas hit by snow, could be hurricane-like.
The snow and sleet that hit northern Texas overnight was moving toward the center of the state Saturday, the National Weather Service in Fort Worth said.
“Very dangerous temperatures and wind chills are spreading to the area and will remain until Monday,” the agency said on social media platform X. Low temperatures will be in the single digits over the next few nights, with wind chills as low as 24 C.
About 68,000 were without power nationwide as of 8 a.m. ET, about 27,600 of them in Texas. Snow and ice continued to fall in Oklahoma.
After sweeping through the South, the storm was expected to move Northeast, dumping up to 10 inches of snow from Washington, DC, past New York and Boston, the weather service predicted. Temperatures reached -34 C just before dawn in rural Lewis County and other parts of New York state after days of heavy snow.
Governors in more than a dozen states have sounded the alarm about the impending stormy weather, declaring states of emergency or urging people to stay home.
Major regions of Canada are experiencing extreme cold, with some areas likely to dip below -50 C. It is coming as a major and powerful winter storm hits the entire United States, bringing snow, heavy snow and freezing temperatures.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted that the state’s Department of Transportation is repairing roads and told residents, “Stay home if possible.”
More than 3,300 flights were delayed or canceled Saturday, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. An estimated 6,000 were stopped on Sunday.
Angela Exstrom was supposed to fly back to Omaha, Neb., from a trip to Mexico, but learned her Saturday flight out of Houston had been canceled. So instead, he goes back through Los Angeles.
“If you live in the Midwest and travel in the winter, things can happen,” she said.
Cold temperatures and snow
Utility companies braced for power outages because snow-covered trees and power lines could continue to fall long after the storm passed.
The Midwest has seen wind chills as low as -40 C, meaning frost can set in within 10 minutes.
In Bismarck, ND, where the wind chill was 41 C, Colin Cross bundled up Friday in long johns, two long-sleeved shirts, a jacket, hat, hood, gloves and boots as he cleaned the empty unit of the apartment where he works.
“I have been here for a while and my mind has stopped working,” he said.
The storm has been a popular topic of conversation for days at the Saint Paul Mini Market in Baltimore.
“Everybody who walks by is talking up a storm,” says owner Ayaz Ahmed.
“In some ways, this time, they did a good job of letting people know that there’s a storm coming, and everyone knows about the storm, but how to deal with that is another thing.”
The government is preparing to respond
The federal government has put about 30 search and rescue teams on standby. Officials had more than seven million meals, 600,000 blankets and 300 generators placed across the area where the storm was expected to make landfall, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
US President Donald Trump said on social media on Friday that his administration is working with state and local officials and that “FEMA is fully prepared to respond.”
After the storm passes, it will take a long time to thaw. Snow can add hundreds of pounds to power lines and branches and make them prone to outages, especially in windy conditions.
In at least 11 southern states from Texas to Virginia, most homes are heated by electricity, according to the US Census Bureau.
A severe cold snap over the past five years has brought down much of Texas’ power grid, leaving millions without power for days and leading to hundreds of deaths. Abbott has vowed that it will never happen again, and charities are bringing in thousands of workers to help keep the lights on.
Church, Carnival and classes are cancelled
Churches have moved Sunday services online, and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville decided to hold its Saturday night broadcast without fans. Carnival shows in Louisiana have been canceled or rescheduled.
Philadelphia has announced that schools will be closed on Monday. Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. he told students, “It’s also worth having one or two very safe snowball fights.”
Other universities in the South canceled classes for Monday, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the main campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford.
At the University of Georgia, Athens, England’s signalman Eden stayed at the school to hang out with friends, as the school encouraged students to leave the dorms and go home due to concerns about running out of energy.
“I’d like to have my friends,” England said, “kind of struggling together in case anything happens.”
