Holiday Travel Disrupted: How Winter Weather is Impacting Your Weekend Plans

Challenging weather across the nation could lead to delays, as predictions indicate regions of rain and snowfall approaching the holiday. 

Weekend travel plans were disrupted by persistent winter conditions on Saturday in the Northeast, while western regions braced for further waves of rainfall in lower areas coupled with mountain snow. By Sunday morning, meteorologists expected adverse weather to influence several interstate highways in both the Northeast and the Northwest, including I-95, I-90, I-84, I-80 and I-5. 

The weather caused power outages along Amtrak and New Jersey Transit rail lines on Sunday morning, halting services from both companies in Philadelphia as well as parts of New Jersey and New York, CBS News Philadelphia reported. In a notification sent by Amtrak, the company announced: “Due to fallen overhead power lines obstructing the tracks, service is temporarily halted between Philadelphia and New York. Amtrak staff are currently at the location.” Amtrak projected that the tracks would reopen by 12 p.m. ET on Sunday.

As we look forward to the remaining days of the week, forecasts indicate a combination of rain and snow will arrive in the Great Lakes and Northeast regions from Monday into Tuesday, which is Christmas Eve. Portions of the Mississippi Valley are expected to experience significant rainfall on Tuesday, with an elevated risk of flash flooding already noted in the predicted weather outlooks for that area.

This morning, there were 1,683 delayed flights in and out of the U.S., alongside 55 cancellations, as reported by the monitoring site FlightAware. Delays have tripled since 5 a.m. ET, while cancellations have nearly doubled, according to the tracker. Among the U.S. airports impacted, Chicago O’Hare International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Boston Logan International Airport appeared to bear the most significant impacts of the disruptions. Boston Logan and JFK in New York each reported approximately 80 delays in departing flights, while O’Hare noted over 40.

This season is forecasted to be the busiest year-end holiday travel period ever recorded, according to auto club AAA, who stated that over 119 million individuals are expected to travel at least 50 miles from their residences between this weekend and New Year’s Day. This figure surpasses the previous record high set during the 2019 holiday season. This year, the weekends surrounding Christmas are anticipated to experience some of the most congestion on the roads and in airports.

As the U.S. House successfully avoided a government shutdown late Friday, the Transportation Security Administration announced it was gearing up to screen nearly 40 million travelers from Dec. 19 to January 2, a 6.2% increase compared to last year. The busiest days are projected to be Dec. 20, Dec. 27, and Dec. 30, according to TSA forecasts. Additionally, airlines are preparing for considerable crowds on Sunday, as well as Dec. 26 and Dec. 29, while they anticipate comparatively light flight traffic on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

The airline industry association Airlines for America forecast a similar record, projecting that U.S. airlines will transport 54 million passengers between Dec. 18 and Jan. 6. This figure represents a 6% increase over last year’s holiday air travel statistics.