Tag: Storms

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Latest Updates on Impact of Winter Storms During Holiday Travel Period

Latest Updates on Impact of Winter Storms During Holiday Travel Period

Update: December 23, 2022 at 12:50 p.m. ET

Airlines canceled over 4,100 U.S. flights on Friday as the massive winter storm impacting much of the United States snarled airport operations and frustrated thousands of holiday travelers, according to FlightAware.com.

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Another 4,652 flights have been delayed, with the most impacted airports located in Seattle, Chicago, New York City, Detroit, Denver, Toronto, Portland, Vancouver, Washington D.C. and Cleveland.

According to Weather.com, Winter Storm Elliott has intensified into a bomb cyclone near the Great Lakes, bringing high winds, snow and blizzard conditions with it. Snow is being reported from the Great Lakes to the Appalachians and parts of northern New England.

Rain is also soaking much of the rest of the Northeast ahead of the fast-moving arctic cold front.

Update: December 23, 2022 at 9:25 a.m. ET

As travelers prepare for the holidays, Winter Storm Elliott is intensifying into a likely bomb cyclone near the Great Lakes. The system is bringing high winds, snow and blizzard conditions to place from the Northern Plains to New York.

Impacted areas are also bringing significant Great Lakes lakeshore flooding, coastal flooding to parts of the Northeast seaboard and dangerous travel impacts from a flash freeze to parts of the South and East.

According to FlightAware.com, there were 3,415 flight cancellations within, into or out of the United States on Friday so far, with over 1,700 additional delays. For Saturday, almost 200 additional flights have already been preemptively canceled due to the storms.

On Thursday, a total of 2,685 flights in the U.S. were canceled and another 11,160 were delayed.

The Severe winter weather has also caused Amtrak to make several service changes and cancelations in the Midwest and Northeast through December 25. These actions are taken with an abundance of caution and consultation with state transportation departments, host railroads, emergency managers and weather forecasters.

Travelers with reservations on trains that are being modified will typically be accommodated on trains with similar departure times or another day.

Update: December 22, 2022 at 1:10 p.m. ET

United States President Joe Biden said the country faces “dangerous and threatening” storms ahead of the winter holiday travel period and warned that Americans hitting the road should do so immediately.

“It’s dangerous and threatening, it’s really very serious weather and it goes from Oklahoma all the way to Wyoming and Maine,” Biden said Thursday. “So, I encourage everyone to please heed local warnings.”

“If you all have travel plans, leave now, not a joke,” Biden continued. “I’m sending my staff. If they have plans to leave tomorrow, I’m telling them leave now.”

White House officials said the administration has already spoken to 26 state governors in impacted regions and will be briefed by FEMA and the National Weather Service.

Update: December 22, 2022 at 8:25 a.m. ET

As the Pacific Northwest continues to deal with the impact of Winter Storm Elliott, the storm continues to spread heavy snowfall, freezing rain and bone-chilling winds across the Midwest in what is likely to become a blizzard.

In addition to the storm conditions, a blast of Arctic air is forecast to plunge much of the country into bitter and dangerous cold temperatures. To combat the storm, airports and airlines have canceled and delayed flights.

According to FlightAware.com, there were 1,234 flight cancellations within, into or out of the United States on Thursday so far, with nearly 1,000 additional delays. For Friday, another 700-plus flights have already been preemptively canceled due to the storms.

Airports in Detroit, New York City, Chicago, Vancouver and Denver have been the most impacted so far.

Original Text

As travelers prepare to visit family and friends during the holiday travel period, Winter Storm Elliott is forecast to impact flight service and roads throughout the United States.

Add in another storm impacting travel in the Pacific Northwest, and this holiday is shaping up to be one filled with delays and cancellations during one of the year’s busiest periods.

The winter storm is tracking eastward toward the Plains, Midwest and Great Lakes, where it will produce snow and high winds, including blizzard conditions, as it potentially grows into a bomb cyclone. Elliott will also bring strong winds and a possible flash freeze to parts of the Midwest, East and South.

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woods in winter snow forest

Data from AAA Travel predicted that 112.7 million people would journey 50 miles or more away from home from December 23 to January 2, an increase of 3.6 million people compared to last year. The survey also found that 102 million Americans will drive to their destinations, an increase of over two million people on the roads.

Air travel will see a 14 percent increase over last year, with nearly 7.2 million Americans expected to fly during the winter holiday travel period. AAA expects the number of people taking flights this year will almost match 2019 totals, when 7.3 million Americans traveled by air.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the Thursday before Christmas is expected to be the busiest travel day of the week, with 47,554 scheduled flights. Friday has more than 44,300 flights scheduled.

In anticipation of the storm, many airlines have started issuing travel waivers, allowing passengers to reschedule their flights without change fees. AccuWeather experts believe as many as 5,000 flights could be delayed or canceled.

Major carriers in the U.S.—including American, Delta, Southwest and United—have issued travel advisories in the Pacific Northwest, Northwest Mountain, Atlantic, Northeast, Midwest and Central Plains regions.

Several major cities are being impacted by the storm waivers, including Baltimore, Boise, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Seattle, Washington D.C. and more.

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5 things to know for December 15: Storms, Congress, Covid tests, US border, World Cup

5 things to know for December 15: Storms, Congress, Covid tests, US border, World Cup



CNN
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If you’ve yet to begin your holiday shopping, don’t worry, you’re not alone. There’s still time to avoid the last-minute mad dash, but a lot of mail congestion is expected in the coming weeks – and inclement weather can throw a wrench in the works, forcing delivery delays or cancellations. So, plan to get packages in the mail by these shipping deadlines, and it’s more likely your loved ones will receive their gifts on time.

Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day.

(You can get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.)

Tornadoes have left trails of destruction across Louisiana and the Southeast, collapsing homes, flipping cars and knocking out power for more than 50,000 people in the region Wednesday night. The severe weather system has killed at least three people and injured dozens more, officials said. There were at least 49 tornado reports made across Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama and Florida over the past two days, according to the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center. And the threat isn’t over yet. More than 15 million people could see severe weather today in parts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas as the storm system shifts to the east, forecasts show.

The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to pass a stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown at the end of this week. The vote was 224 to 201, with nine Republicans joining Democrats to vote in favor. The bill must now go to the Senate to be approved before it can go to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. A bipartisan agreement for a full-year government funding deal has proven challenging amid disagreements over spending priorities. Republicans are critical of recent domestic spending by Democrats and argue that measures they’ve passed – like a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill and sweeping health care and climate legislation – are wasteful and will worsen inflation. Democrats counter by saying they were necessary to help the country recover from the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as to tackle other critical issues. 

The White House is warning of a possible Covid-19 winter surge, urging Americans to gather and socialize safely with family and friends during the holiday season. “This is not one disease in isolation,” White House Covid-19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told CNN, referring to the concurrent waves of Covid-19, RSV, and the flu. In addition to encouraging people to get vaccinated and boosted, the administration said it is restarting the free at-home Covid-19 test program, permitting each American household to order up to four free tests this winter from COVIDTests.gov. It is also offering federal resources to local health departments, putting an extra focus on high-risk individuals in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

The federal government is suing Arizona for placing shipping containers at the US-Mexico border as a temporary wall, according to court documents filed Wednesday. In August, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, issued an executive order telling state officials to use shipping containers to fill in gaps along the border, and did so without official permits or authorization. The federal government has been battling with the state ever since to get the containers removed, according to the lawsuit. The legal spat comes as the Biden administration faces a looming deadline this month to terminate Title 42, a public health authority that allowed officials to turn away migrants at the US southern border citing pandemic concerns. A federal judge blocked the administration’s attempts at maintaining the authority last month and set its expiration date for next Wednesday.

The World Cup final is set after defending champion France ended Morocco’s impressive run during a semifinal match Wednesday with a 2-0 victory. Argentina and top player Lionel Messi now await the French for the ultimate showdown Sunday as the latter team seeks to win back-to-back World Cup titles. “Here we go again. It’s just an amazing feeling,” France’s captain Hugo Lloris said after the win, per FIFA. “We suffered a lot, especially in the second half. We played too deep and they showed they’re not a team only focused on defending. They know how to attack. They deserve a lot of credit for this World Cup,” he added. Morocco, the first African team to ever reach the tournament’s semifinals, will still go home with its head held high after defying expectations throughout the tournament.

Impatient dog drives off without owner

Watch this dog cause a fender bender after jumping behind the wheel. Who knows, maybe he was in a rush for his morning puppuccino… 

Meet the world’s new richest person

Elon Musk is no longer the richest person on the planet, dropping to the second spot behind this French businessman who keeps a very low profile.

Harry and Meghan discuss royal split in Netflix documentary

The final installments of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s controversial Netflix documentary have been released. Here are the key takeaways.

Henry Cavill says he will not return as Superman

DC fans were stunned by Cavill’s news, coming just months after he’d announced he would be returning as the Man of Steel.

Todd and Julie Chrisley ordered to report to Florida prisons in January

The reality TV stars were sentenced to serve years in separate prisons in the Florida Panhandle after being found guilty of fraud and tax crimes.

Stephen “tWitch” Boss, the beloved DJ for “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and dancer who rose to fame on “So You Think You Can Dance,” has died, his wife, fellow dancer Allison Holker Boss, confirmed in a statement to CNN. He was 40. “He was the backbone of our family, the best husband and father, and an inspiration to his fans,” Holker Boss said. She concluded her statement by saying “Stephen, we love you, we miss you, and I will always save the last dance for you.”

13.5 billion years

That’s how long it took for some of the light in this new “wide-field” image of the universe to reach Earth. The stunning image, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, shows never-before-seen galaxies as well as some of the faintest objects visible in space.

“I don’t think it would qualify as a recession because you’ve got positive growth.”

– Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, saying Wednesday that he thinks the US economy will continue to grow through the Fed’s rate hike campaign, even though the central bank expects America’s gross domestic product to slip and unemployment to rise. His remarks came after the Fed raised its benchmark interest rate for the seventh time in a row, to a range of 4.25{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} to 4.5{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502}. The Fed’s rate hikes are part of its aggressive plan to bring down the highest inflation since the early 1980s.

rain snow ice storm

Severe storm threat for Southeast as Northeast sees snow and ice


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– Source:
CNN

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When you live in the Swiss Alps, you can paraglide to work

Forget bumper-to-bumper traffic or the subway stench, these lucky people have one of the best work commutes in the world. (Click here to view.)