US Air Traffic Snarled as New York Braces for Deep Snow

AFP/APP

New York: US air travel was thrown into chaos on Friday as airlines cancelled around 1,500 flights during the peak holiday travel period, with severe winter storm warnings and heavy snow forecast across parts of the Midwest and Northeast.

More than 40 million Americans were under winter storm warnings or weather advisories a day after Christmas, while another 30 million were facing flood or storm advisories in California, where a so-called atmospheric river has dumped heavy rain.

New York, the country’s largest city, was bracing for up to 10 inches (25 centimetres) of snow overnight — the heaviest snowfall in four years.

Temperatures were forecast to plunge and remain cold into the weekend as an Arctic blast swept down from Canada.

At least 1,490 flights had been cancelled and more than 5,900 delayed as of 4:00 pm US Eastern time (2100 GMT), according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.

The National Weather Service (NWS) said snowfall across the upper Great Lakes region was expected to shift toward the US Northeast.

“Difficult travel conditions are ongoing for the area, and those travelling for the holidays should exercise caution if they have to be on the road,” the NWS warned.

New York Mayor Eric Adams said a winter storm warning was in effect and that city crews had been deployed to clear and plough roads.

Airports in New York and Chicago ranked near the top of FlightAware’s “Misery Map,” which tracks flight delays and cancellations nationwide.

New York’s three major area airports accounted for around 850 flight cancellations, the website said.

Weather warnings were also issued for Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut, as well as parts of Michigan, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Meanwhile, California on the US West Coast endured heavy rainfall this week, but the NWS forecast conditions would begin drying out over the weekend.

The severe weather and related flooding forced the Santa Barbara Airport, northwest of Los Angeles, to close temporarily. By Friday morning, after crews worked overnight to clear water from runways, authorities announced the airport had reopened.