severe-weather-delays-more-than-2500-us-flights-amid-post-thanksgiving-travel

Severe Weather Delays More Than 2,500 US Flights Amid Post-Thanksgiving Travel

Severe weather caused major delays for holiday travelers, with more than 2,500 flights being delayed at airports across the country. Fifty-five million Americans were projected to travel at least 50 miles away from home this Thanksgiving weekend. AAA reports “a 1.5% increase over 2021 and 98% of pre-pandemic volumes”. According to FlightAware.com, 63 U.S. flights had been canceled as of 2:30 p.m. ET in addition to the 2,564 delayed flights.

AAA had predicted this would be a tough holiday travel weekend. Paula Twidale, AAA’s Senior Vice President of Travel warned travelers to be calm. “Plan ahead and pack your patience, whether you’re driving or flying,” Twidale said.

On Sunday, approximately 14 million people across the Ohio Valley and Southeast were under wind advisories. This includes residents of Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee; Louisville, Kentucky, and Asheville, North Carolina. Early Sunday morning, a wind gust of 53 mph was reported in Kentucky. This afternoon, gusts will range from 25 to 35 mph.

Overnight and into Sunday morning, rain continued to fall in the Southeast, mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes regions, making travel difficult for people in cities such as Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Atlanta , Washington D.C., Nashville Tennessee and Charlotte North Carolina. The Northeast will have the heaviest downpours early to mid-afternoon Sunday, with New York City, Washington D.C., and Boston being affected the most.

The severe weather is expected to last through Monday

The bulk of the Northeast will see rain taper off by late afternoon or early evening, but some areas of New England may have scattered showers linger until Sunday night into early Monday morning. For those in northern Maine, expect rain to eventually change over to snowfall. Between half an inch to 1.25 inches of rain is expected in the eastern third of the nation, NBC News reports.

According to the weather service, this weekend’s storm system has left winter weather and storm alerts in its wake from Washington State all the way down to Colorado. The areas that will see the heaviest snowfall on Sunday are the Cascades and northern Rockies, with accumulations generally ranging from 2 to 7 inches. However, it is possible for higher elevations and mountain passes to get up to 15 inches of accumulation. Additionally, it will be quite windy. This could lead to hazardous travel conditions due to reduced visibility from high winds gusts up to 65 mph.

On Monday, the system’s snow will travel south to Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. According to the weather service, these areas can expect 6-12 inches of accumulation with stronger amounts in higher elevations. Additionally, wind gusts will stay high throughout the region at 30-50 mph.

This storm system will bring a heightened risk for severe weather across the Middle and Lower Mississippi Valley on Tuesday.