Cancelled and delayed seem the words of the day at select airports around the nation, as wintery weather is throwing a serious dent in holiday travelers’ plans.
The Weather Channel reports that weather conditions are having a “medium” impact on air travelers in Boston, Atlanta and parts of New York so far, but “high” impact on hopeful fliers around Buffalo. Those ratings are bound to worsen for East Coast residents — and those with flights and travel plans that touch on that region — as the storm on Wednesday was barreling through the area, dropping snow and leaving behind icy roads.
They’re calling it Winter Storm Boreas, and it’s already hit hard at the southern Rockies and in western regions of the country, dumping inches of snow and leaving 14 dead from weather-related accidents. By the time the storm wraps, the storm and ice will have impacted at least 58 million people living in 2.5 million square miles of the country, said winter weather analyst Tom Niziol, in The Weather Channel.
It’s due to let up Thanksgiving Day.
Some holiday statistics: CNN reported that the storm’s already sent 6,000 flights off schedule and led to the outright cancellations of another 271, just Tuesday. By Wednesday, 95 of those flight cancellations were still in effect.
And at the nation’s busiest airport, Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson International, weather delays left hordes of people milling about Tuesday, awaiting updated travel news. The Northeast braced for the same on Wednesday, as weather forecasters said the worst was headed to Boston and New York and all points north by midday.
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“Let’s face it,” said JetBlue COO Rob Maruster to a CNN affiliate, WCBS. “With 80 percent of our airplanes touching the congested Northeast, we’re acutely aware that things can go wrong relatively quickly.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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