United States: thousands of flights delayed or canceled due to winter weather

A hard blow in the middle of peak traffic for the end-of-year holidays. Airlines delayed or canceled thousands of flights in the United States this Friday due to storms, according to flight tracking site FlightAware and the U.S. Weather Service (NWS).

“Heavy snowfall” is particularly expected in the New York region at the end of the day this Friday and until Saturday morning, as well as in the Rocky Mountain and Cascade mountain ranges (northeast), the NWS indicated in the morning. “Freezing rain” and “sleet” are also expected to affect the Great Lakes area.

The “atmospheric river,” which has been triggering torrential rains, flash floods and debris flow warnings in Southern California since Thursday, “will ease as the day goes on,” according to the weather service.

New York and Chicago airports among the most affected

A total of 1,364 flights had been canceled and 4,267 delayed as of 6:30 p.m. GMT, FlightAware counted, according to which New York and Chicago airports were among the most affected.

In New York and the neighboring state of New Jersey, where up to 20 cm of snow is expected in places, authorities have called on residents to “limit travel”.

“All New Yorkers need to prepare – avoid driving if possible and allow yourself more time on public transportation,” asked Mayor Eric Adams, who will succeed Zohran Mamdani on January 1, in a press release.