Travellers to the US should be prepared for cold, icy and stormy weather.
US newspapers and sites late yesterday reported that airline schedule disruptions continued for a third day on Friday, December 23. The Washington Post (WP) said more than 4 000 flights were cancelled yesterday. It is likely that more snow, ice and severe cold is on the way to parts of the US.
Southwest Airlines cancelled more than 800 flights and American Airlines about 275. United Airlines and Delta canceled 228 and 232 flights respectively.
Most of the cancelled flights were to or from the Midwest and Northeast. About 20% of flights into and out of Reagan National Airport were cancelled on Friday.
The WP added that certain long-distance and regional rail services were cancelled up to and including Sunday, Christmas Day. Bus lines have suspended services in some areas and some highways are closed.
On the East Coast, the FAA said, high winds threatened delays from Boston to Charlotte, affecting hubs in New York, Philadelphia and Washington. Amtrak and bus services Greyhound and Coach USA have suspended some trips to the end of Christmas Day, Sunday.
Some Amtrak trains to and from Vermont were cancelled on Friday as conditions deteriorated in the Northeast. Some train services on multiple Midwest and cross-country routes have been cancelled up to Sunday.
Long-distance routes that originate or end in Chicago have been suspended and all passengers are asked to check the status of their trains before heading to the station. Amtrak said that those affected would be able to rebook and change bookings without any cancellation fees.
Arctic air and dangerous wind chill is expected to continue to blow in during the holiday weekend for most of the eastern two-thirds of the country, with the potential for power outages from the expected high winds, heavy snows, significant icing and overall increased power consumption in places, the weather agency has said.
