Flights canceled, states of emergency declared as winter storm forecast to carry harmful climate throughout U.S.

More than 13,000 U.S. flights have been canceled for Saturday and Sunday as a large storm strikes throughout the United States. It is forecast to carry harmful winter climate, together with snow, ice and frigid temperatures, all through the weekend into Monday.

At least 230 million individuals are below winter storm threats from the Southern Rockies to New England, with situations like heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain together with dangerously chilly temperatures and wind chills. 

States of emergency declared, National Guards activated

At least 19 states and Washington, D.C., have declared states of emergency, which permit for the activation of emergency response packages and state help for operations. 

Ten states have activated their National Guards. 

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued a press release urging Americans to remain off the roads over the following two days. Some federal places of work have already introduced closures for Monday. 

On Saturday, the Texas Department of Transportation posted photographs of highways coated in snow within the suburbs north of Dallas, after ice and sleet hit northern Texas in a single day. Ice was additionally protecting roads and bridges in elements of Mississippi, in keeping with Scott Simmons, a spokesman for Mississippi’s emergency administration company.

Freezing rain was already coating roads Saturday in Texas and Alabama, and vehicles in Mississippi. Nearly 200 Florida utilities staff had been in Georgia and South Carolina, in place for what’s to return.

Tennessee has additionally began being walloped by snow and ice, with forecasters predicting as much as six inches of snow anticipated from the storm, greater than a season’s value in about in the future.

The clear message from state leaders to residents was keep house and do not drive, however already dozens of drivers have slid off the roads.

Nashville metropolis transportation officers solely have 45 snow plows to clear a whole lot of miles of roads. But as soon as the storm shifts from snow to sleet, the plows could not assist. 

In Arkansas, Little Rock was coated with snow and sleet on Saturday. 

Pictures additionally confirmed snow protecting Nashville.

In a press release late Saturday night time, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani mentioned metropolis companies had been totally mobilized and inspired New Yorkers to keep away from pointless journey and stay house if doable. The mayor mentioned town was forecast to face the coldest sustained temperatures it had seen in eight years.

Flight delays and cancellations

Flight monitoring website FlightAware reported over 4,00 cancellations affecting flights in or out of the U.S. for Saturday. More than 4,000 delays have been recorded. 

Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport has canceled most of its scheduled flights. Nashville International Airport has canceled greater than half.

Cancellations for Sunday soared to greater than 9,400 — probably the most cancellations in a single day for the reason that begin of the COVID pandemic in March 2020.

Southwest Airlines dispatcher Emily Estapa informed “CBS Saturday Morning” that airways are working to stop any pointless journey to airports. Many airways have put journey waiver packages in place that permit fliers to reschedule their journeys for free of charge. 

“We have to take into consideration not only our passengers, but our crews, our folks that are out at the station,” Estapa mentioned. 

The results of the storm could final for days. Frigid temperatures are anticipated to comply with the ice and snow. Gus Hudson, the senior deputy common supervisor for operations at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the busiest airport on the earth, mentioned the power’s winter storm crew is already treating runways and taxiways. 

“Things may be slower, but we think we will still be able to maintain our operations,” Hudson mentioned. “They will just be at a slower pace.” 

Power outages

As Saturday night time, outage tracking site PowerOutage.com reported greater than 54,000 outages in Texas and greater than 67,000 had been reported in Louisiana. 

Officials are significantly involved about energy outages. Ice is heavier than snow, and its weight on energy traces could result in widespread outages. In at the least 11 Southern states, nearly all of houses are heated by electrical energy, elevating the potential for dangerously chilly situations throughout an outage. 

“Once we get more than about a quarter inch of ice on those lines, the lines either start sagging and failing, or more likely, you actually get the vegetation above it, the trees, to fall on the lines, and that causes potentially a larger number of outages,” mentioned Thomas Overbye, a professor {of electrical} and laptop engineering at Texas A&M University.

Chris Johnson, the assistant director of operations and discipline companies at Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, informed CBS News that his “biggest concern” is energy outages adopted by frigid temperatures. More than 200 folks died when a 2021 ice storm in Texas knocked out energy for days.  

“When you have that extreme cold following power outages, you know, there’s vulnerable populations,” Johnson mentioned. “The impacts that that creates is the concern.” 

If an outage happens, propane heaters or mills shouldn’t be used inside the house due to their harmful fumes. Texas officers mentioned a number of the deaths within the 2021 ice storm had been on account of carbon monoxide poisoning as folks sought heat from vehicles and out of doors grills.