A “once in a generation” winter storm is sending powerful winds and sub-freezing temperatures throughout swaths of the Northeast and Midwest just as holiday travelers pack airports, unleashing a cascade of flight disruptions across the country, including all three Bay Area airports.
And it’s only just beginning.
Frigid temperatures and severe storms blanketed much of the country’s northern region, and airlines were bearing the brunt. At 12:00 p.m. Thursday, over 2,000 flights within, into, or out of the United States had been canceled and over 5,000 were delayed, according to Flight Aware. It was possible those numbers could rise, according to the airlines.
Among the Bay Area’s three major airports, there have been 30 delayed flights and seven canceled flights today just this morning, according to Flight Aware. The bulk of the air travel havoc is emanating from Denver, where blistering winds are coursing across the city, and Chicago, where whiteout conditions are expected amid heavy snowfall. Travelers heading to New York, and Washington, D.C., should also expect major delays.
How much did the temperature change in an hour or less as the cold front passed? Here is a graphical depiction using the real-time mesoscale analysis grids. The grid showed max drop was near -47 degrees in NE Colorado. Included is the actual record drop trace at Cheyenne, WY. pic.twitter.com/ct47GE2ppo
— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) December 22, 2022
Even warm-weather seekers heading to Miami should brace for delays.
Doug Yakel, a spokesperson for San Francisco International Airport, said SFO has not seen mass cancellations yet, but he said delays could increase as the day progresses.
Yakel’s advice for travelers heading into the eye of the winter storm: Book a new flight.
Many airlines are waiving change fees and allowing travelers to choose new flights that avoid bad weather.
“I know a lot of people want to get there by Friday or Saturday,” said Yakel. “But if there is flexibility see if your airlines allow (changes) without financial penalty and take advantage.”
Among the airlines offering free flight rebookings: Delta, American, United, Frontier, Alaska and Southwest.
Kaley Skantz, an Oakland Airport spokeswoman, said the “absolute best advice” is to download your airline’s mobile app to ensure you are receiving real-time notifications on your flight.
The storm, called a “bomb cyclone,” has put about 190 million people under a winter weather advisory, although Californians have been spared the brunt of the chill, which saw temperatures on Thursday reach a life-threatening minus-24 degrees at the Denver International Airport. In Chicago, temperatures have already dropped to minus-8 degrees and minus-4 in St. Louis.
“Wind chills of this magnitude can cause frostbite in less than 5 minutes if precautions are not taken, with hypothermia and death also possible from prolonged exposure to the cold,” the National Weather Service office in Maryland said in its Thursday forecast.
⬇DIA briefly dropped to -24F this morning, just shy of meeting the monthly record set in 1990. With temperatures recently trending "warmer", there's a good chance this will be the final low temperature. 🥶#COwx https://t.co/2LFHhwoOa0
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) December 22, 2022
Forecasters predict an onslaught of heavy snow, ice, flooding and powerful winds from Thursday to Saturday in a broad swath of the country, from the Plains and Midwest to the East Coast. A surge of Arctic air will follow. The Christmas weekend could be the coldest in decades.
The weather added uncertainty to what was expected to be a busy travel season. Earlier this month, AAA estimated that nearly 113 million people would travel 50 miles from home or more between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2. That’s 4% higher than last year, although still short of the record 119 million in 2019.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
