Flights Canceled, 800,000 Without Power As Fast-Moving Winter Storm Pounds Mid-Atlantic
Update (1217ET): A fast-moving winter storm pounded the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, resulting in 800,00 customers without power.
According to PowerOutage.US, the highest concentration of power outages spanned across Virginia (378k customers without power) and North Carolina (163k customers without power).
AccuWeather reports parts of Tennessee and North Carolina have received nearly a foot of snow.
The Washington Metropolitan Area is expected to receive 4-6 inches of snow by late evening.
The wintry conditions unleashed travel hell, with at least 2,330 flight cancellations within, into, or out of the US. Most cancellations are at Reagan National, Baltimore/Washington International, and LaGuardia.
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The timing of Monday’s winter storm for Mid-Atlantic states isn’t great as more flights have been canceled or delayed due to staffing issues and inclement weather.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a winter storm warning for Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Deleware, and South Jersey. The storm could blanket D.C. with a foot of snow by Monday night.
NWS warns that some areas could see upwards of 2 inches of snow per hour. Total snowfall could reach 10 inches in certain areas, but a large swath of the Mid-Atlantic could see 4-8 inches.
Adverse weather conditions worsened the travel situation amid a crew staffing shortage. Flight tracking firm FlightAware.com reports (as of 0700 ET) 1,800 flights within, into, or out of the U.S. were canceled, with nearly 672 delays. That follows Sunday’s 2,709 cancellations.
Reagan National, LaGuardia, Denver International, Baltimore/Washington International, Newark Liberty International, and Washington Dulles International had some of the highest flight cancellations this morning. Southwest, SkyWest, Endeavor Air, and JetBlue were the most affected airlines.
Since Christmas Eve, at least 12,000 flights have been canceled around the country, making this past holiday travel season an absolute mess for airline passengers. It appears the travel chaos will be extended for the next few days.
