A major winter storm that is bringing wet, heavy snow, combined with wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour (96.6 km/h) will result in thousands of flight delays and cancellations before the storm moves offshore on Wednesday.
“A major Nor’easter will continue heavy snow, strong winds, and coastal flooding from northeast Pennsylvania into southern Maine through tonight,” the National Weather Service said in a special statement.
The storm could bring over a foot (30 cm) of the white stuff to the Catskills and southern Adirondacks in New York, the Berkshires and Worcester hills in Massachusetts, the Monadnocks and White Mountains in New Hampshire, and the southern Green Mountains in Vermont, the agency said.
In some areas of Maine, northwestern Connecticut, and northeastern Pennsylvania as well as Sussex County in New Jersey, up to two feet (60 cm) of snow is possible.
As of 2 p.m. EDT, there had been 2,892 flight delays and 932 flight cancellations within, into, and out of the United States and that number is expected to climb significantly by day’s end.
Major carriers including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines said they would waive change fees as a result of the severe weather and in most cases allow passengers to rebook their travel within two weeks of the original travel date.
Airlines and airports were telling travelers to check with their airlines to confirm when their flights are departing, if at all.
“Due to expected weather conditions, passengers are advised to check with their airline on the status of their flight before coming to the airport,” Massport, the operator of Boston Logan International Airport, said in a weather advisory on its website.
Boston Logan has experienced the highest number of flight cancellations for both inbound and outbound flights, with 27% of all inbound and 25% of all outbound flights scrubbed. Departure delays there are running at 8%.
Meanwhile, New York’s LaGuardia Airport is in second place, with 21% of arriving flights cancelled and 19% of departing flights grounded. Delays on outbound flights are currently at 25%.
The airlines most impacted by the weather are Republic Airlines, which has cancelled 242 flights, or 22% of its operations, and Southwest Airlines, which has cancelled 108 flights, or 2%, and also has posted 535 flight delays at press time.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
