1,000 Flights Canceled Across US After Winter Storm, Cold Staying Until Friday

By Daniel Distant, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, December 10, 2013

1,000 flights were canceled by Tuesday morning after a winter storm grounded many planes across the central U.S. and the northeast. Monday had freezing frost and today's snowfall has continued to thwart travel for many.

The 1,000 flights that were canceled came from various airports, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. 354 flights were canceled at Dallas-Fort Worth airport alone and 558 more were from American Airlines- that added to the nearly 3,000 canceled flights there since Saturday, according to USA Today.

Newark Liberty Airport had 230 canceled departures and arrivals. Washington Dulles was forced to cancel 90 flights, and over 100 cancellations came from LaGuardia in New York, Philadelphia and Washington Reagan airports. Some flights to Louisville International were canceled as well.

Delays are also frequent among the aforementioned airports. The Federal Aviation Administration created a flight-delay map that reveals delays of up to five hours. The best way to avoid running into a delayed or canceled flight is to check ahead.

"Travelers just really, really need to check (their flight's status) before they go to the airport," Louisville International Airport spokeswoman Trish Burke told The Courier-Journal. "What impacts one community or one airline can easily have a trickle effect."

2,600 flights were canceled Sunday and 1,700 Monday, but the final tally of Tuesday's cancellations have not been counted. The winter storm could drop up to five inches of snow today, which is unusual for the season.

"It's very unusual," meteorologist Dave Hannen told CNN. "This literally spreads across the entire U.S., and we're 12 days from the official start of winter."

Travel is hazardous for drivers too. 15 have died so far mainly from traffic-related accidents on the icy roads. Compounding the problem is the freezing temperatures- meteorologists have estimated the cold days to remain until at least Friday.