Flights cancelled, roads closed as storms snarl US travel
[NEW YORK] Major storms on both US coasts and into the upper Midwest are disrupting travel plans during the busy post-holiday period when many Americans are making their way back home.
More than 1,600 flights across the US had been cancelled as of Friday (Dec 26) afternoon, according to the FlightAware website. JetBlue Airways was the carrier with the most cancellations on Friday, with more than 200, according to FlightAware. That was followed by Delta Air Lines.
New York City’s three major airports – LaGuardia, JFK and Newark – were hit hard by the disruptions, with as much as 9 inches (23 cm) of snow forecast for the areas. Detroit, Philadelphia and Boston airports also saw cancellations and delays. Heavy rains, mudslides and flooding prompted road closures in California, while the Great Lakes region faces accumulating ice.
The disruptions are striking at one of the busiest travel times of the year. A record number of Americans were projected to venture at least 50 miles from home during the Dec 20 to Jan 1 period, the American Automobile Association forecast, up about 2 per cent from last year.
What’s making the flooding, blizzards, snow and ice especially dangerous is that more travellers were expected to choose roads over flights this year. About 109.5 million Americans were projected to drive for their holiday plans this year, according to the AAA outlook. Some eight million were forecast to fly.
JetBlue said in an emailed statement it cancelled about 350 flights between Friday and Saturday, primarily in the North-east. “We are working to assist affected customers with rescheduling,” the company said.
United Airlines said it published “a weather waiver to give maximum flexibility to customers”. It also reduced its schedule in advance to minimise disruption once the storm arrives, a company representative said in an email. Southwest Airlines said it made some schedule adjustments in the North-east, primarily at New York’s LaGuardia airport and in Baltimore.
The extreme weather comes amid the return of La Nina, the pattern marked by a cooling of Pacific waters that can disrupt economies and trigger disasters worldwide.
“La Nina winters are notorious for their volatility, and we are certainly getting a healthy serving of that this holiday season,” said Matt Rogers, president of the Commodity Weather Group. “The weather models have been struggling to keep up with all the moving parts and variations in the forecast.”
New York City issued a travel advisory for Friday evening into Saturday as cold temperatures limit snowmelt, increasing the risk of slippery and hazardous road conditions. Pennsylvania residents were warned to prepare for power outages because of the severe winter weather. And in California, flooding, storm damage and debris led to dozens of road closures in the Los Angeles area alone, county data show, with further closures and disruptions reported throughout the state.
Winter weather can lead to soaring demand for electricity – crimping power supplies. So far, grids aren’t showing signs of stress, but electricity prices have started to climb. Spot prices in New York City touched about US$127 a megawatt-hour at 2.10 pm, up from US$32 a day earlier.
The colder temperatures also helped to lift prices for US natural gas, used as a fuel for home heating. Futures rose about 3 per cent on Friday. BLOOMBERG
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