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Tag: weather

  • Two missing after avalanche hits skiers in Austria

    Two missing after avalanche hits skiers in Austria

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    Up to 10 people were initially feared missing based on a video from a witness, but rescue workers say eight of those have been identified and were no longer feared buried.

    Rescue workers have launched a search for two people who went missing after an avalanche swept across ski trails in western Austria.

    The avalanche occurred at about 3pm (14:00GMT) on Sunday in the Lech/Zuers free skiing area.

    Initially, up to 10 people were feared missing based on video from a witness, but eight of those individuals had been identified and were no longer feared buried, the DPA news agency reported, citing a spokesperson for the rescue team.

    One of those rescued was injured and flown to a hospital in the city of Innsbruck.

    Another was hurt but was able to free himself and go to another hospital, regional security councillor Christian Gantner told the Austrian Press Agency (APA).

    Six other people spotted in the video were uninjured.

    The fate of the final two was unknown, APA reported.

    About 200 rescue workers were searching the avalanche site near the town of Zuers.

    Searchlights were set up on the snow mass to continue the search after darkness fell on Sunday, and dogs were being used to try to find the missing.

    The avalanche occurred on the 2,700-metre (nearly 9,000-foot) high Trittkopf mountain between Zuers and Lech am Arlberg, and the cascading snow reached as far as nearby ski trails.

    It followed days of snow in the high alpine region and unseasonably warm weather on Christmas Day.

    The local mountain rescue service had rated the avalanche danger as “high”.

     

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  • A Buffalo family who became stranded in blizzard conditions got to spend Christmas at firefighters’ firehouse | CNN

    A Buffalo family who became stranded in blizzard conditions got to spend Christmas at firefighters’ firehouse | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    When the blizzard first hit Buffalo, New York, a family of six packed up their bags and headed to a local hotel after they lost power at their home – but they ended up celebrating Christmas somewhere a little more surprising.

    Demetrice and Danielle, along with their children Aayden, 8, Aubree, 4, Jordynn, 2, and 9-month-old Judah became one of the many motorists who got stuck in impassable road conditions in Buffalo on Friday, according to a Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority statement.

    The family was rescued by Buffalo Airport Fire Fighters, along with 36 other people who were also caught in blizzard conditions, according to the transportation authority statement.

    As the only rescued motorists with young children, the family got to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day somewhere special: at the firehouse with the firefighters.

    Their oldest, Aayden, asked the firefighters if he could wear a firefighter uniform with them and was given a uniform and department T-shirt and learned about how the first responders dispatch, according to the transportation authority.

    The 8-year-old was also thrilled that Santa Claus would be delivering presents to them at the firehouse.

    “Christmas became a big concern because Aayden was so excited that Santa would know he was here and he would get to celebrate at a real firehouse and we didn’t want to disappoint,” said Assistant Chief Buffalo Airport Fire Department Joel Eberth. “We were able to find several items in the firehouse to wrap for the family and with the amazing help from the field office delivering some items from the terminal, we were able to make sure Santa paid a visit.”

    “It was an amazing experience for our firefighters and it definitely made us better people,” Eberth said.

    Buffalo has been hard hit by the winter storm sweeping the country. As of Sunday morning, 43 inches of snow had fallen there, according to the National Weather Service.

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  • A prolonged winter storm delivers power outages, snarled travel and frigid temperatures on Christmas Day | CNN

    A prolonged winter storm delivers power outages, snarled travel and frigid temperatures on Christmas Day | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A nearly weeklong winter storm blasting much of the US has plunged temperatures to life-threatening lows, brought blizzards and floods, and left more than a quarter million people without power on Christmas Day.

    Blizzard conditions continue across the Great Lakes, while frigid cold temperatures grip the eastern two-thirds of the US, with some major cities in the Southeast, Midwest and East Coast recording their coldest Christmas in decades.

    Large areas of the central and eastern US remain under wind chill warnings and advisories, as freeze warnings are in effect across the South.

    New York City saw record cold temperatures on Christmas Eve at several locations, including its JFK and LaGuardia airports. The high at Central Park was 15 degrees, marking its second-coldest December 24 in at least 150 years, according to the National Weather Service.

    At least 22 deaths have been attributed to dangerous weather conditions since Wednesday, and some residents in the Northeast are spending the holiday without sufficient heat or hot water as extremely cold temperatures persist.

    Across the US, 275,856 homes and businesses in the US had no electricity service as of 1 a.m. ET, many of them in Maine and New York, according to PowerOutage.us. Since the start of the storm the number of outages has at times exceeded a million customers.

    A power grid operator for at least 13 states in the country’s eastern half asked customers to conserve power and set thermostats lower than usual from early Saturday to 10 a.m. on Sunday because usage was straining capacity.

    The operator, PJM Interconnection, serves about 65 million people in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia, and warned rolling blackouts could happen if the strain becomes too much.

    In New York, utility companies Con Edison and Natural Grid US also urged customers to conserve energy, citing extreme weather conditions and increased energy demand on interstate pipelines carrying natural gas into the city.

    Meanwhile, a shortage of electricity in Texas prompted the US Department of Energy to declare an emergency Friday, allowing the state’s energy provider to exceed environmental emissions standards until energy usage drops.

    In Jackson, Mississippi, frigid temperatures are hampering efforts to repair a large water main break late Saturday, which has caused a loss in water pressure for residents, city officials said.

    “We are grateful to the crews who are braving these frigid temperatures on this Christmas Eve night, while working to restore pressure to residents. Their sacrifice does not go unnoticed and is appreciated not only by this administration, but also by every resident who is affected,” the release stated.

    The brutal weather conditions have also snarled travel during the busy holiday weekend, with more than 5,000 flights canceled Friday, more than 3,400 flights canceled Saturday, and more than 1,000 canceled for Christmas Day.

    Conditions on the road weren’t any better in parts of the country amid whiteout conditions and icy and snow-covered roadways.

    In New York’s Erie County – which is seeing blistering blizzard conditions – about 500 motorists found themselves stranded in their vehicles Friday night into Saturday morning, despite a county driving ban put in place during the storm, according to County Executive Mark Poloncarz.

    National Guard troops were called in to help “rescue people that are stuck in vehicles,” and to give rides to medical workers so they could relieve colleagues who had been working at hospitals for more than a day, Poloncarz said.

    In Seattle, Washington, online videos have documented cars sliding on the icy roads and bumping into each and residents slipping as they walked on sidewalks, CNN affiliate KOMO reported.

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she will ask the federal government for a declaration of emergency after a blistering winter storm.

    “I’ll be asking the federal government for a declaration of emergency that’ll allow us to seek reimbursements for the extraordinary expenses of all the overtime and the fact that we brought in mutual aid from other parts of the state,” Hochul said to reporters Saturday. “We’ve deployed individuals – the utility crews have come but also making sure that we have all the vehicles we need.”

    New York’s three storm-related deaths were reported in Erie County. Two died in separate incidents Friday night when emergency medical personnel could not get to their homes in time for medical emergencies, Poloncarz said Saturday morning. Details about the third death, confirmed by a county spokesperson Saturday afternoon, weren’t immediately available.

    “The loss of two lives in Buffalo – storm related – because people were not able to get to medical attention, is again a crisis situation that unfolds before your eyes and you realize that lifesaving ambulances and emergency medical personnel cannot get to people during a blizzard situation,” Hochul added.

    Other storm-related deaths have been reported in the country. They include:

    • Colorado: Police in Colorado Springs, Colorado, reported two deaths related to the cold since Thursday, with one man found near a power transformer of a building possibly looking for warmth, and another in a camp in an alleyway.

    • Kansas: Three people have died in weather-related traffic accidents, the Kansas Highway Patrol said Friday.

    • Kentucky: Three people have died in the state, officials have said, including one involving a vehicle accident in Montgomery County.

    • Missouri: One person died after a caravan slid off an icy road and into a frozen creek, Kansas City police said.

    • Ohio: Eight people have died as a result of weather-related auto accidents, including four in a Saturday morning crash on Interstate 75, when a semi tractor-trailer crossed the median and collided with an SUV and a pickup, authorities said.

    • Tennessee: The Tennessee Department of Health on Friday confirmed one storm-related fatality.

    • Wisconsin: Wisconsin State Patrol on Thursday reported one fatal crash due to winter weather.

    In pictures: Winter storm impacts the US


    The storm system is forecast to gradually weaken as it lifts into southeastern Canada, moving slowly during the next couple of days and pulling arctic air from Canada down into much of the eastern side of the country.

    The Arctic blast being felt across the eastern two-thirds of the nation will slowly moderate into Monday, but dangerous conditions will persist Christmas Day.

    The cold temperatures combined with dangerous wind chills will create a potentially life-threatening hazard for travelers who become stranded, people who work outside, livestock and pets, according to the National Weather Service.

    “In some areas, being outdoors could lead to frostbite in minutes,” the Weather Service warned.

    As the frigid air continues to blast the warm waters of the Great Lakes, lake-effect snows and blizzard conditions are expected to continue, but slowly become less intense.

    Still, strong gusty winds initially up to 60 mph accompanying the snow downwind from the Great Lakes will continue to make for extremely dangerous conditions on the road.

    By Christmas night into Monday, another low pressure system coming from the Pacific will deliver the next surge of moisture toward the Pacific Northwest and then into northern California, according to the Weather Service.

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  • Millions in US hunker down from frigid, deadly monster storm

    Millions in US hunker down from frigid, deadly monster storm

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    BUFFALO, N.Y. — Millions of people hunkered down in a deep freeze overnight and early morning to ride out the frigid storm that has killed at least 18 people across the United States, trapping some residents inside homes with heaping snow drifts and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses.

    The scope of the storm has been nearly unprecedented, stretching from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico. About 60% of the U.S. population faced some sort of winter weather advisory or warning, and temperatures plummeted drastically below normal from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians, the National Weather Service said.

    More than 2,360 domestic and international flights were canceled Saturday, according to the tracking site FlightAware.

    Forecasters said a bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — had developed near the Great Lakes, stirring up blizzard conditions, including heavy winds and snow.

    The storm unleashed its full fury on Buffalo, with hurricane-force winds and snow causing whiteout conditions, paralyzing emergency response efforts — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said almost every fire truck in the city was stranded — and shutting down the airport through Monday, according to officials.

    Freezing conditions and day-old power outages had Buffalonians scrambling Saturday to get out of their homes to anywhere that had heat. But with city streets under a thick blanket of white, that wasn’t an option for people like Jeremy Manahan, who charged his phone in his parked car after almost 29 hours without electricity.

    “There’s one warming shelter, but that would be too far for me to get to. I can’t drive, obviously, because I’m stuck,” Manahan said. “And you can’t be outside for more than 10 minutes without getting frostbit.”

    Mark Poloncarz, executive of Erie County, home to Buffalo, said ambulances were taking more than three hours to make a single hospital trip and the blizzard may be “the worst storm in our community’s history.”

    Two people died in their suburban Cheektowaga, New York, homes Friday when emergency crews could not reach them in time to treat their medical conditions, he said, and another died in Buffalo.

    “We can’t just pick up everybody and take you to a warming center. We don’t have the capability of doing that,” Poloncarz said. “Many, many neighborhoods, especially in the city of Buffalo, are still impassable.”

    Ditjak Ilunga of Gaithersburg, Maryland, was on his way to visit relatives in Hamilton, Ontario, for Christmas with his daughters Friday when their SUV was trapped in Buffalo. Unable to get help, they spent hours with the engine running in the vehicle buffeted by wind and nearly buried in snow.

    By 4 a.m. Saturday, with their fuel nearly gone, Ilunga made a desperate choice to risk the howling storm to reach a nearby shelter. He carried 6-year-old Destiny on his back while 16-year-old Cindy clutched their Pomeranian puppy, stepping into his footprints as they trudged through drifts.

    “If I stay in this car I’m going to die here with my kids,” he recalled thinking, but believing they had to try. He cried when the family walked through the shelter doors. “It’s something I will never forget in my life.”

    The storm knocked out power in communities from Maine to Seattle, and a major electricity grid operator warned 65 million people across the eastern U.S. of possible rolling blackouts.

    Across the six New England states, more than 273,000 customers remained without power on Saturday, with Maine the hardest hit. Some utilities said electricity may not be restored for days.

    In North Carolina, 169,000 customers were without power Saturday afternoon, down from more than 485,000. Utility officials said rolling blackouts would continue for the next few days.

    Storm-related deaths were reported in recent days all over the country: Four dead in an Ohio Turnpike pileup involving some 50 vehicles; four motorists killed in separate crashes in Missouri and Kansas; an Ohio utility worker electrocuted; a Vermont woman struck by a falling branch; an apparently homeless man found amid Colorado’s subzero temperatures; a woman who fell through Wisconsin river ice.

    In Mexico, migrants camped near the U.S. border were facing unusually cold temperatures as they awaited a U.S. Supreme Court decision on pandemic-era restrictions preventing many from seeking asylum.

    Along Interstate 71 in Kentucky, Terry Henderson and her husband, Rick, weathered a 34-hour traffic jam in a rig outfitted with a diesel heater, a toilet and a refrigerator after getting stuck trying to drive from Alabama to their Ohio home for Christmas.

    “We should have stayed,” Terry Henderson said after they got moving again Saturday.

    Poloncarz of Erie County tweeted late Saturday that 34.6 inches (about 88 centimeters) of snow had accumulated at the Buffalo Airport and drifts were well over 6 feet (1.8 meters) in some areas. Blizzard conditions were expected to ease early Sunday, he continued, but continuing lake effect snow was forecast.

    Vivian Robinson of Spirit of Truth Urban Ministry in Buffalo said she and her husband have been sheltering and cooking for 60 to 70 people, including stranded travelers and locals without power or heat, who were spending Saturday night at the church.

    Many arrived with ice and snow plastered to their clothes, crying, their skin reddened by the single-digit temperatures. On Saturday night, they prepared to spend Christmas together.

    “It’s emotional just to see the hurt that they thought they were not going to make it, and to see that we had opened up the church, and it gave them a sense of relief,” Robinson said. “Those who are here are really enjoying themselves. It’s going to be a different Christmas for everyone.”

    ———

    Bleiberg reported from Dallas. Associated Press journalist Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Corey Williams in Southfield, Michigan; John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia; Maysoon Khan in Albany, New York; Hannah Schoenbaum in Raleigh, North Carolina; Wilson Ring in Stowe, Vermont; and John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report.

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  • More migrants dropped outside vice president’s home in freezing weather on Christmas Eve | CNN Politics

    More migrants dropped outside vice president’s home in freezing weather on Christmas Eve | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    Two busloads of migrants were dropped off in front of Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence in Washington, DC, on Christmas Eve in 18 degree weather, a law enforcement source told CNN. The source said there was no one from any organization or aid group on the ground to receive them in front of the Naval Observatory, where the vice president’s home is located.

    “It looked like they had to call either family members or somebody else to come and pick them up, but they were standing out there, shivering with blankets for the last five to 10 minutes,” the law enforcement source said.

    A separate administration official confirmed the arrival and said law enforcement has estimated that approximately 50 more migrants are inbound and expected late Christmas Eve, likely after 10 p.m. ET. The initial two busloads were taken to local shelters, according to the official.

    It’s not clear who is responsible for sending the migrants to the Naval Observatory, though CNN reported earlier this year that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had sent buses of migrants north, including to a location outside Harris’ home.

    Abbott is one of at least three Republican governors who have taken credit for busing or flying migrants north this year to protest the Biden administration’s immigration policies. He previously confirmed in September that his state had sent the buses to Harris’ residence at that time.

    This is a breaking story and will be updated.

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  • Frigid weather doesn’t stop Santas surfing off Florida coast

    Frigid weather doesn’t stop Santas surfing off Florida coast

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    For the surfing Santas off Florida’s central coast, the Atlantic Ocean felt more like the North Pole than the Sunshine State as temperatures plunged to around freezing, while freeze warnings were in place for at least half of the state

    COCOA BEACH, Fla. — For the surfing Santas off Florida’s central coast, the Atlantic Ocean felt more like the North Pole than the Sunshine State as temperatures on Saturday morning plunged to around freezing, while freeze warnings were in place for at least half of the state.

    Parts of the Florida Panhandle had wind chills that dipped into the single digits on Saturday morning, and interior parts of central Florida had temperatures plunging as low as 27 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 2.7 Celsius degrees).

    “It’s a frigid start to your #ChristmasEve across the area,” the National Weather Service in Tallahassee tweeted.

    Miami was among the last holdouts of warm weather in the U.S. on Friday, but by Saturday morning temperatures had dipped to below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) for the first time in almost a year. South Floridians were on the watch for falling iguanas. The cold-blooded reptiles that reside in Miami suburbs typically become immobilized when temperatures drop below 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4 Celsius degrees).

    Despite the frigid temperature, the 14th annual Christmas Eve Surfing Santas festival was held Saturday morning at Cocoa Beach on Florida’s Space Coast.

    The event has grown from 10 surfers dressed in Santa costumes when it started in 2009 to hundreds of participants on surfboards, boogie boards and paddle boards in years past. Close to 140 surfers braved the frigid water Saturday morning. Almost 10,000 spectators showed up to cheer them on, and a beachside restaurant distributed free hot cocoa to help them stay warm, according to organizers.

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  • EXPLAINER: Arctic blast sweeps US, causes bomb cyclone

    EXPLAINER: Arctic blast sweeps US, causes bomb cyclone

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    NEW YORK — An arctic blast has brought extreme cold, heavy snow and intense wind across much of the U.S. — just in time for the holidays.

    The weather system, dubbed a “bomb cyclone,” is disrupting travel and causing hazardous winter conditions. Where is this winter weather coming from, and what’s in store for the coming days?

    WHAT’S HAPPENING?

    A front of cold air is moving down from the Arctic, sending temperatures plunging.

    Much of the U.S. will see below-average temperatures, said Bob Oravec, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.

    Temperatures may drop by more than 20 degrees Fahrenheit (11 degrees Celsius) in just a few hours, the National Weather Service predicts.

    Wind chill temperatures could drop to dangerous lows far below zero — enough to cause frostbite within minutes. In parts of the Plains, the wind chill could dip as low as minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 57 Celsius).

    Those in the Plains, the Upper Midwest and the Great Lakes were cautioned to expect blizzard conditions as heavy winds whip up the snow, according to the National Weather Service.

    WHO WILL BE AFFECTED?

    Pretty much everyone east of the Rockies — around two-thirds of the country — will see extreme weather, said Ryan Maue, a private meteorologist in the Atlanta area.

    Though much of the West Coast will be shielded from the cold, the Arctic front is expected to pass east and south all the way through Florida.

    Heavy snowfall and intense winds could be bad news for air travel, Oravec said.

    And for those planning to hit the road for the holidays, “you’re going to have pretty serious whiteout conditions,” Maue cautioned.

    HOW LONG WILL IT LAST?

    This weather system is expected to bring some major “weather whiplash,” said Judah Cohen, a winter storm expert for Atmospheric Environmental Research.

    The cold isn’t going to stick around for long. After the dramatic plunge that will keep temperatures low for about a week, “everything will snap back to normal,” Cohen said.

    Shortly after Christmas, temperatures are expected to start to warm up again, moving from west to east. They are likely to remain near normal through the end of the year in most of the U.S.

    WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?

    It all started farther north, as frigid air collected over the snow-covered ground in the Arctic, Maue said.

    Then the jet stream — wobbling air currents in the middle and upper parts of the atmosphere — began pushing this cold pool down into the U.S.

    As this arctic air is pushed into the warmer, moister air ahead of it, the system can quickly develop into serious weather — including what’s known as a “bomb cyclone,” a fast-developing storm in which atmospheric pressure falls very quickly over 24 hours.

    These severe weather events usually form over bodies of water, which have lots of warmth and moisture to feed the storm, Maue said. But with the huge amount of cold air coming through, we could see a rare bomb cyclone forming over land.

    IS THIS NORMAL?

    The storm is definitely a strong one, but “not unheard of for the winter seasons,” Oravec said.

    It’s pretty normal to have cold air build up in the winter. This week, though, shifts in the jet stream have pushed the air more to the southeast than usual, Oravec said — sweeping the freeze across the country and making storm conditions more intense.

    The U.S. probably won’t reach record-breaking lows, like those seen in the cold snap of 1983 or the polar vortex of 2014, Maue said.

    Still, “for most people alive, this will be a memorable, top-10 extreme cold event,” Maue said.

    ———

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • A powerful winter storm claims at least 11 lives across the US as temperatures plunge, winds howl and power lines fall | CNN

    A powerful winter storm claims at least 11 lives across the US as temperatures plunge, winds howl and power lines fall | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Hundreds of thousands of Americans are waking up in the dark to unlit trees on Christmas Eve, after destructive winds and heavy snow from a winter storm tore down power lines and endangered drivers across the country, killing at least 11 people in its path.

    As bone-chilling temperatures continue to grip the US this holiday weekend, the unrelenting storm is pummeling the Midwest and parts of the East with heavy snow, blizzard conditions and even flooding along the Northeast coast. No letup is in sight until the end of Christmas Day.

    Related: Follow live updates

    At least 11 people have died since Wednesday across four states, a result of how dangerous and life-threatening conditions have been this week over a large swath of the country.

    Three people died in separate car crashes in north-central Kansas on Wednesday, Highway Patrol spokesperson Lt. Candice Breshears said. All three deaths are confirmed to have been weather-related, Breshears noted.

    In Kansas City, Missouri, one person died after losing control of their vehicle on icy roads Thursday afternoon, according to the Kansas City Police Department. The vehicle “went down the embankment, over the cement retaining wall and landed upside down” into a creek, police said in a statement.

    Four people died in car crashes in Ohio, where others were also injured, Gov. Mike DeWine said.

    Kentucky reported three deaths caused by the storm: Two in car crashes and another was a person who was unhoused in Louisville, Gov. Andy Beshear said. The man’s body was found outside with no obvious signs of trauma – an autopsy is required to determine the cause of death, police said.

    For days, forecasters and officials have been sounding the alarm on the grim conditions the storm promised to bring, while imploring drivers to stay off the icy, snow-covered roads and other travelers to alter holiday plans for optimal safety.

    “Remember your loved ones care more about having you alive and that next Christmas than whether you can make this one,” Beshear told CNN Friday.

    “People need to stay off the roads. … Being together is more important than ever, but staying safe is even more important than that,” Beshear added.

    The ominous warning comes as the storm continues to bear down with blizzard conditions from the Great Lakes and interior Northeast, bringing the double threat of heavy snow and speedy winds.

    Hundreds of drivers across multiple states, including New York, South Dakota and Minnesota were stranded this week and needed rescuing. Some states have closed major highways to deter drivers from getting behind the wheel. Plus, more than 5,000 flights were canceled Friday, and more than 10,000 were delayed.

    To make matters worse, even if snowfall stops or slows down, whiteout conditions are likely because winds are forecast to near or surpass 60 mph, resulting in damage and more power outages.

    “If you do lose power, it is going to be dangerously cold,” said Jackie Bray, the commissioner of New York’s Homeland Security and Emergency Services, adding people should seek warming shelters provided by some counties. “Please don’t assume that you can weather this cold overnight without heat. You may not be able to.”

    So far, hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses have no electricity, according to PowerOutage.US, which means millions of residents likely do not have proper heating or hot water as extremely cold temperatures persist Saturday.

    New Hampshire, New York and Virginia each have more than 50,000 outages as of early Saturday, while more than 240,000 outages are reported in Maine, the website shows.

    In pictures: Winter storm impacts the US


    Here’s what else you can expect this Christmas Eve:

    • The cold is coming for many: More than 175 million people are under wind chill alerts from across much of the central and eastern US. “The life-threatening Cold Temperatures and Dangerous wind chills will create a potentially life-threatening hazard for travelers that become stranded,” the National Weather Service said.
    • Record temps in the South: Atlanta and Tallahassee, Florida, are forecast to have their coldest high temperature ever recorded on December 24, according to the weather service.
    • Brutal cold elsewhere: Philadelphia and Pittsburgh will also see their coldest day Christmas Eve ever on Saturday. Washington, DC, could see its second-coldest on Christmas Eve, the first being in 1989. New York is set to experience its coldest Christmas Eve since 1906. Chicago is expecting temperatures to rebound above zero but will still experience its coldest Christmas Eve since 1983.
    • Flooding threats persist: Both coastal and inland flooding risks are in store for the Northeast from heavy rain falling onto a melting snowpack. Moderate to isolated major coastal flooding is possible due to strong onshore winds.

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  • Wild winter storm envelops US, snarling Christmas travel

    Wild winter storm envelops US, snarling Christmas travel

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    MISSION, Kan. — A wild winter storm continued to envelop much of the United States on Saturday, bringing blinding blizzards, freezing rain, flooding and life-threatening cold that created mayhem for those traveling for the Christmas holiday.

    The storm that arrived earlier in the week downed power lines, littered highways with piles of cars in deadly accidents and led to mass flight cancellations.

    The storm was nearly unprecedented in its scope, stretching from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico. About 60% of the U.S. population faced some sort of winter weather advisory or warning, and temperatures plummeted drastically below normal from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians, the National Weather Service said.

    Freezing rain coated much of the Pacific Northwest in a layer of ice, while people in the Northeast faced the threat of coastal and inland flooding.

    The frigid temperatures and gusty winds were expected to produce “dangerously cold wind chills across much of the central and eastern U.S. this holiday weekend,” the weather service said, adding that the conditions “will create a potentially life-threatening hazard for travelers that become stranded.”

    “In some areas, being outdoors could lead to frostbite in minutes,” it said.

    Adding to the woes were power outages that by late Friday were still affecting more than a million homes and businesses, according to the website PowerOutage, which tracks utility reports.

    As millions of Americans were traveling ahead of Christmas, more than 5,700 flights within, into or out of the U.S. were canceled Friday, according to the tracking site FlightAware.

    Multiple highways were closed and crashes claimed at least six lives, officials said. At least two people died in a massive pileup involving some 50 vehicles on the Ohio Turnpike. A Kansas City, Missouri, driver was killed Thursday after skidding into a creek, and three others died Wednesday in separate crashes on icy northern Kansas roads.

    In Canada, WestJet canceled all flights Friday at Toronto Pearson International Airport, as meteorologists there warned of a potential once-in-a-decade weather event. While in Mexico, migrants camped near the U.S. border in unusually cold temperatures as they awaited a U.S. Supreme Court decision on pandemic-era restrictions that prevent many from seeking asylum.

    Forecasters said a bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — had developed near the Great Lakes, stirring up blizzard conditions, including heavy winds and snow.

    Even people in Florida were braced for unusually chilly weather as rare freeze warnings were issued for large parts of the state over the holiday weekend.

    Activists were rushing to get homeless people out of the cold. Nearly 170 adults and children were keeping warm early Friday in Detroit at a shelter and a warming center that are designed to hold 100 people.

    “This is a lot of extra people” but it wasn’t an option to turn anyone away, said Faith Fowler, the executive director of Cass Community Social Services, which runs both facilities.

    Emergency weather shelters in Portland, Oregon, called for volunteers amid high demand and staffing issues as snow, freezing rain, ice and frigid temperatures descended upon the area.

    South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said she was deploying the National Guard to haul timber to the Oglala Sioux and Rosebud Sioux tribes and help with snow removal.

    “We have families that are way out there that we haven’t heard from in two weeks,” said Wayne Boyd, chief of staff to the Rosebud Sioux president.

    On the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Harlie Young was huddled with five children and her father around a wood stove as 12-foot (3.6-meter) snow drifts blocked the house.

    “We’re just trying to look on the bright side that they’re still coming and they didn’t forget us,” she said Friday.

    Calling it a “kitchen sink storm,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency. In parts of New York City, tidal flooding inundated roads, homes and businesses Friday morning.

    In Boston, rain combined with a high tide, flooded some downtown streets on Friday.

    ———

    Bleed reported from Little Rock, Arkansas. Associated Press journalists Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit; Gillian Flaccus in Portland, Oregon; Zeke Miller in Washington, D.C.; and Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed to this report.

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  • Wild winter storm envelops US, snarling Christmas travel

    Wild winter storm envelops US, snarling Christmas travel

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    MISSION, Kan. — A wild winter storm continued to envelop much of the United States on Saturday, bringing blinding blizzards, freezing rain, flooding and life-threatening cold that created mayhem for those traveling for the Christmas holiday.

    The storm that arrived earlier in the week downed power lines, littered highways with piles of cars in deadly accidents and led to mass flight cancellations.

    The storm was nearly unprecedented in its scope, stretching from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico. About 60% of the U.S. population faced some sort of winter weather advisory or warning, and temperatures plummeted drastically below normal from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians, the National Weather Service said.

    Freezing rain coated much of the Pacific Northwest in a layer of ice, while people in the Northeast faced the threat of coastal and inland flooding.

    The frigid temperatures and gusty winds were expected to produce “dangerously cold wind chills across much of the central and eastern U.S. this holiday weekend,” the weather service said, adding that the conditions “will create a potentially life-threatening hazard for travelers that become stranded.”

    “In some areas, being outdoors could lead to frostbite in minutes,” it said.

    Adding to the woes were power outages that by late Friday were still affecting more than a million homes and businesses, according to the website PowerOutage, which tracks utility reports.

    As millions of Americans were traveling ahead of Christmas, more than 5,700 flights within, into or out of the U.S. were canceled Friday, according to the tracking site FlightAware.

    Multiple highways were closed and crashes claimed at least six lives, officials said. At least two people died in a massive pileup involving some 50 vehicles on the Ohio Turnpike. A Kansas City, Missouri, driver was killed Thursday after skidding into a creek, and three others died Wednesday in separate crashes on icy northern Kansas roads.

    In Canada, WestJet canceled all flights Friday at Toronto Pearson International Airport, as meteorologists there warned of a potential once-in-a-decade weather event. While in Mexico, migrants camped near the U.S. border in unusually cold temperatures as they awaited a U.S. Supreme Court decision on pandemic-era restrictions that prevent many from seeking asylum.

    Forecasters said a bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — had developed near the Great Lakes, stirring up blizzard conditions, including heavy winds and snow.

    Even people in Florida were braced for unusually chilly weather as rare freeze warnings were issued for large parts of the state over the holiday weekend.

    Activists were rushing to get homeless people out of the cold. Nearly 170 adults and children were keeping warm early Friday in Detroit at a shelter and a warming center that are designed to hold 100 people.

    “This is a lot of extra people” but it wasn’t an option to turn anyone away, said Faith Fowler, the executive director of Cass Community Social Services, which runs both facilities.

    Emergency weather shelters in Portland, Oregon, called for volunteers amid high demand and staffing issues as snow, freezing rain, ice and frigid temperatures descended upon the area.

    South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said she was deploying the National Guard to haul timber to the Oglala Sioux and Rosebud Sioux tribes and help with snow removal.

    “We have families that are way out there that we haven’t heard from in two weeks,” said Wayne Boyd, chief of staff to the Rosebud Sioux president.

    On the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Harlie Young was huddled with five children and her father around a wood stove as 12-foot (3.6-meter) snow drifts blocked the house.

    “We’re just trying to look on the bright side that they’re still coming and they didn’t forget us,” she said Friday.

    Calling it a “kitchen sink storm,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency. In parts of New York City, tidal flooding inundated roads, homes and businesses Friday morning.

    In Boston, rain combined with a high tide, flooded some downtown streets on Friday.

    ———

    Bleed reported from Little Rock, Arkansas. Associated Press journalists Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit; Gillian Flaccus in Portland, Oregon; Zeke Miller in Washington, D.C.; and Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed to this report.

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  • A least 9 dead as massive winter storm leaves more than a million without power and bitter cold across much of US | CNN

    A least 9 dead as massive winter storm leaves more than a million without power and bitter cold across much of US | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A massive winter storm battered the US on Friday with frigid temperatures, high winds and heavy snow, leaving at least nine people dead, knocking out power to over a million customers and wrecking holiday plans from coast to coast.

    The storm – expected to intensify throughout Friday as it barrels through the Midwest and East – is making for grim road conditions with poor visibility and ice-covered streets. Coastal flooding is also an issue, particularly along the shorelines of the Northeast.

    All modes of travel – planes, trains and automobiles – were being disrupted: There were hundreds of miles of road closures and flight cancellations were growing rapidly. In New York, flooding along the Long Island Rail Road forced part of the Long Beach branch to temporarily shut down.

    Related: Follow live updates

    “Christmas is canceled,” said Mick Saunders, a Buffalo, New York, resident who was two hours into blizzard conditions that are expected to last through Sunday morning. “All family and friends agreed it’s safer this way.”

    At least 9 deaths have been reported since Wednesday.

    In north-central Kansas, three people were killed in separate car crashes on Wednesday evening; one death was confirmed to be weather-related, and two were believed to be weather-related but need more investigation, according to Kansas Highway Patrol spokesperson Lt. Candice Breshears.

    In Kansas City, one person died after losing control of their Dodge Caravan on icy roads Thursday afternoon, according to the Kansas City Police Department. “The Dodge went down the embankment, over the cement retaining wall and landed upside down, submerged in Brush Creek,” police said in a statement.

    In Kentucky, three people died due to the storm, including two in vehicle crashes and the other a “housing insecure” person in Louisville, Gov. Andy Beshear said. The man’s body was found outside with no obvious signs of trauma and an autopsy would determine the cause of death, police said.

    And in Ohio, four people have died “as a result of weather-related auto accidents” and several others have been injured, according to Gov. Mike DeWine.

    Life threatening cold has pushed all the way to the Gulf Coast and the Mexican border, with below zero wind chills reported as far south as Austin and Atlanta. Many locations in the eastern US are in for their coldest Christmas Eve in decades as the Arctic blast reaches its peak.

    About 1.2 million customers in the US are experiencing power outages amid the winter weather and frigid temperatures, according to the website PowerOutage.US. Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania have the most outages.

    In pictures: Winter storm impacts the US


    In all, more than 200 million people in the US were under wind chill alerts from the Canadian border to the Mexican border and from Washington state to Florida, with below-zero wind chills expected in the Southeast by Friday. Other winter weather alerts are in effect for blizzard conditions, ice, snow as well as flooding.

    “The National Weather Service’s Watch Warning graphic depicts one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever,” the agency said Thursday.

    Notably, parts of Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming have already seen wind chills below minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit in the past two days.

    The entire state of Texas was seeing temperatures below freezing by early Friday afternoon, according to weather observations from around the state.

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned residents about the “epic, statewide hazard” of winter weather.

    “I called it a kitchen sink storm because it is throwing everything at us but the kitchen sink,” Hochul said at a press conference Friday afternoon. “We’ve had ice, flooding, snow, freezing temperatures, and everything that mother nature could wallop at us this weekend.”

    For Brian Trzeciak, the storm was “living up to the warnings” at his home in Hamburg, New York. Buffalo’s airport, just to the north, reported zero visibility shortly after noon on Friday.

    “Whiteout conditions, frigid temperatures, and the waves are like what you would see during a hurricane,” he told CNN.

    He and his family decided to cancel their Christmas plans because of the dangers from the storm.

    “My mother lives about 30 minutes away and so does my sister and her family, in the other direction,” he said. “We always get together for Christmas Eve and Christmas, but we’re all hunkering down in our houses until it all stops on Monday.”

    Driving bans are in place in Erie, Genesee, Niagara and Orleans counties in Western New York because of whiteout conditions.

    As many as 250 people could be stranded in their cars in Erie County in a situation that Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said put first responders at unnecessary risk. Brown told CNN Friday night that forecasts call for 36 to 48 inches of snow. The area has had wind gusts of 79 mph.

    Many will experience a cold holiday unlike any other: Atlanta, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Tallahassee, Florida, are all forecast to have their coldest high temperature ever recorded on December 24, according to the National Weather Service.

    Washington DC is forecast to see its second coldest Christmas Eve, only behind 1989. In New York, it will be the coldest Christmas Eve since 1906. Chicago is expecting temperatures to rebound above zero, but will still experience its coldest Christmas Eve since 1983.

    Much of Florida will experience the peak of their cold on Christmas Day. It will be coldest Christmas Day since 1983 for Miami, Tampa, Orlando and West Palm Beach.

    On Friday, the storm unleashed more heavy snow and blizzard conditions, particularly in the Midwest.

    As it treks east across the country, the storm is expected to become a “bomb cyclone,” a rapidly strengthening storm which drops 24 millibars of pressure within 24 hours. The storm’s pressure was forecast to match that of a Category 2 hurricane as it moved into the Great Lakes on Friday morning.

    Governors in at least 13 states, including Georgia and North Carolina in the South, have implemented emergency measures to respond to the storm. Declarations of a state of emergency in several states have included the activation of National Guard units.

    More than 5,400 Friday flights have already been canceled as of 7:30 p.m. ET, after nearly 2,700 cancellations on Thursday, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.

    • It will remain very cold: Friday will bring record-low temperatures in large swaths of the US, including from the Lower Mississippi Valley, northeastward into the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys and stretching across large sections of the east from the Southeast, through the Southern to Central Appalachians and into the mid-Atlantic, according to the National Weather Service.

    • Dangerous wind chills: The plummeting temperatures will be accompanied by high winds, which will create dangerous wind chills across nearly all the central to eastern US.

    • Blizzard warnings: The Upper Midwest will see frigid temperatures, heavy snow and high winds. The warning applies to parts of Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota and Michigan. Buffalo, New York, will go under a blizzard warning Friday morning. Such warnings go in effect when snow and wind of 35 mph will reduce visibility to less than a quarter of a mile for at least three hours.

    • Whiteout conditions: Blizzard conditions may exist even if snowfall stops, because high winds can pick up snow already on the ground and cause low visibility.

    A separate storm system is bringing heavy mixed precipitation to the Pacific Northwest on Friday.

    A winter storm warning is in effect for western Washington, including Seattle, until 7 p.m. PST Friday. Additional snowfall of up to 2 inches is possible and ice accumulations could reach a quarter of an inch. Precipitation will begin as snow and transition to sleet/freezing rain and then finally to rain. More power outages are likely and travel will be made very difficult.

    The ice caused the closure of runways at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where nearly half of flights going into and out of the airport were canceled, according to FlightAware. Further, all express services for Sound Transit, a regional transportation network in the Seattle metro area, were suspended Friday due to the icy conditions.

    A winter storm warning is also in effect for northeastern Oregon, including Portland, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. PST. Total snow and sleet accumulations of up to one inch and ice accumulations of .2 to .4 inches is likely as well as winds gusting to 55 mph. Wind chills as low as zero are possible, and frostbite is possible on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.

    One of the biggest dangers of the massive winter storm besides heavy snow and blizzard conditions is the rapid drop in temperatures over a short period of time. The air will continue to get and feel colder, especially during night hours.

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  • Winter weather live updates | Travel chaos, bitter cold

    Winter weather live updates | Travel chaos, bitter cold

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    TORONTO — Meteorologists in Canada are warning of a potential once-in-a-decade weather event as a winter storm causes widespread school closures, power outages and flight cancellations.

    Environment Canada is predicting strong winds, heavy snowfall and possible flash freezing and has issued winter storm warnings for the vast majority of Ontario and Quebec.

    “We may only see one of these storms every five or 10 years,” says Environment Canada meteorologist Mitch Meredith. “I’ve only seen a couple of storms like this in the last 20 years.”

    Environment Canada said flash, or sudden, freezes are likely as rain turned to heavy snow on Friday in parts of southern Ontario, creating dangerous driving conditions.

    The storm upended holiday travel plans for thousands of people as airlines preemptively canceled flights, with more disruptions expected.

    ———

    KEY DEVELOPMENTS

    — Ontario, Quebec pummeled by winter storm

    — Ho, ho, snow: NORAD’s Santa tracker ready to roll despite winter storm

    — Falling iguana alert! Even sunny Florida could see freezing temps this weekend

    — Huge storm intensifies into a “ bomb cyclone ”

    — As temperatures plummet, migrants wait along the U.S.-Mexico border for a possible change to asylum rules

    — Air Force tops Baylor in frigid Armed Forces Bowl

    ———

    OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

    ———

    JACKSON, Miss. — In Jackson, Mississippi, the city’s beleaguered water system has so far been able to withstand blistering temperature drops, city officials said Friday. The mayor had expressed concerns that the system — which has led to numerous water shortages in recent years — remained vulnerable to subfreezing temperatures.

    The city’s main water plants “held up to the temperature drops overnight,” city spokeswoman Melissa Faith Payne told WLBT-TV. There have been some water main breaks and some residents have experienced lower water pressure, but crews were making repairs, she said.

    ———

    NEW YORK — Calling it a “kitchen sink storm,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency Friday as wintry weather heads into the state.

    “It is throwing everything at us but the kitchen sink. We’ve had ice, flooding, snow, freezing temperatures, and everything that Mother Nature could wallop at us this weekend,” Hochul said during a press briefing.

    In some parts of the state, precipitation is coming down in rain, which is then turning into ice as temperatures quickly dip. Other parts of the state are at risk of flooding, Hochul said.

    “The rain comes down and there’s barely enough time between the rain and the icing for our snowplows and crews to be able to salt the roads,” the governor said.

    “This is a life threatening event,” Hochul said.

    ———

    COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — Rest assured, kids. A bomb cyclone is no match for the big man in red.

    The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, is the U.S. military agency responsible for monitoring and defending the skies above North America.

    The agency also runs the NORAD Tracks Santa service, which allows people to follow his Christmas journey through its noradsanta.org website, social media channels and mobile app.

    The agency this year plans to have about 1,500 volunteers working on Christmas Eve to field phone calls from children who want to know Santa’s location and delivery schedule. The frightful weather isn’t expected to affect Santa’s schedule.

    “I think Santa will be right at home with the Arctic weather that’s hitting into the lower 48,” says Lt. General David Nahom, a NORAD official based in Anchorage, Alaska.

    ———

    COLLEGE PARK, Md. — This week’s massive storm with its blizzard conditions and Arctic air may set some temperature and wind gust records, but it isn’t unprecedented.

    That’s according to Greg Carbin, chief of forecast operations for the Weather Prediction Center at the National Weather Service. But the storm hitting just before the Christmas holiday when so many Americans are traveling, however, will make it especially disruptive.

    “The impacts are perhaps far greater than they might be in the middle of winter during a typical weekend without a holiday,” said Carbin. “It is a notable storm.”

    The initial shock of cold temperatures is like the fatal February 2021 winter storm where frigid air descended into Texas. But the cold during that storm lingered, knocking out power for millions in Texas. Many died from hypothermia. This storm isn’t expected to last as long.

    “Give it a day or two” and temperatures will start to rebound, Carbin said.

    ———

    WATERLOO, Iowa — Even though the sporting events were canceled, eastern Iowa sports broadcaster Mark Woodley didn’t get the day off.

    “I normally do sports,” Woodley says on-air for Waterloo TV station KWWL. “Everything is canceled here for the next couple of days so what better time to ask the sports guy to come in about five hours earlier than he would normally wake up and go stand out in the wind and the snow and the cold and tell other people not to do the same?”

    By midday Friday, a compilation of his TV stand-ups had been viewed nearly 5 million times on Twitter.

    He later says to a news anchor: “I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. The good news is that I can still feel my face right now. The bad news is, I kind of wish I couldn’t.”

    It may be awhile before Woodley returns to sports. Waterloo, which is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northeast of Des Moines, remains under a blizzard warning until 6 a.m. Saturday.

    ———

    Power outages are piling up across the United States from a winter storm that is bringing heavy snow and powerful winds to much of the country.

    More than 1.4 million homes and businesses were without electricity Friday morning. That’s according to the website PowerOutage.us, which tracks utility reports.

    Most of the outages are in the Eastern U.S., where gusty winds have knocked down trees and power lines.

    In Vermont, residents were told to plan for a “multi-day event” for full power restoration and cleanup.

    “I’m hearing from crews who are seeing grown trees ripped out by the roots,” Mari McClure, president of Green Mountain Power, the state’s largest utility, said at a news conference.

    In Maine, gusts approaching 70 mph (113 kph) were reported along the coast Friday morning. Atop New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, the tallest peak in the Northeast, the wind topped 130 mph (210 kph).

    Hundreds of utility and tree crews were deployed in New England, but the high winds hampered them. The limit for using bucket trucks is typically 25 mph (40 kph) to 35 mph (56 kph), a utility official said.

    ———

    SEATTLE – All bus service was suspended in the greater Seattle area Friday morning due to an ice storm that made travel treacherous and Sea-Tac International Airport closed two out of three runways.

    King County Metro said buses were unable to leave bases due to “deteriorating and unsafe road conditions.” The agency said it hoped it would be able to run buses later Friday. In Pierce, Kitsap and Snohomish counties, authorities also halted bus service.

    The Pacific Northwest has shivered under extreme cold for several days. Forecasters said the freezing rain, which is affecting western Washington and Oregon, is happening as temperatures start to rise and a storm moves through. The warm up will be quick, with forecasters saying temperatures could reach the 50s in Seattle by Christmas.

    ———

    COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The huge winter storm pummeling parts of the United States and Canada has intensified into a bomb cyclone. That’s according to the National Weather Service, which says the atmospheric pressure of the storm has dropped rapidly enough over the past 24 hours to classify the system that way.

    John Moore, a spokesman and meteorologist with the National Weather Service, says the central pressure of the system has fallen rapidly and is expected to continue dropping over the next few hours.

    Blizzard warnings are in effect in the Great Lakes area, where snowfall is expected to combine with powerful winds to create whiteout conditions.

    ———

    COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Extreme cold, powerful wind and blowing snow are wreaking havoc on holiday travelers.

    The National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center calls it a “historic winter storm.” If you’re in the U.S., there’s a good chance winter weather of some sort is in your forecast. The weather service says its map “depicts one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever.”

    By the numbers:

    — 181 million people are under wind chill warnings or advisories.

    — More than 11 million people are under blizzard warnings.

    — 58 million people face winter storm warnings.

    — And more than 500,000 people are under ice storm warnings.

    ———

    NEW YORK — What is a “bomb cyclone” anyway?

    The name comes from the meteorological term bombogenesis, which occurs when a fast-developing storm rapidly intensifies, causing atmospheric pressure to quickly drop in a 24-hour period. Bombogenesis creates a bomb cyclone.

    It all started farther north, as frigid air collected over the snow-covered ground in the Arctic, said Ryan Maue, a private meteorologist in the Atlanta area.

    Then the jet stream — wobbling air currents in the middle and upper parts of the atmosphere — began pushing this cold pool down into the U.S.

    As this arctic air is pushed into the warmer, moister air ahead of it, the system can quickly develop into serious weather, including a bomb cyclone.

    ———

    CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — A group of Venezuelan migrants sought refuge from the cold under blankets beside a bonfire in a dirt alleyway beside a crumbling cinderblock wall in this city across the border from El Paso.

    “We’re from the coast (of Venezuela) with lot of sun and the cold affects us,” said 22-year-old Rafael Gonzalez and a native of La Guaira on the Caribbean coast. “The shelter here is very full. … And that means it’s our turn to be here, having a little bonfire.”

    He and others said they are eager to learn whether the U.S. will lift restrictions on migrants seeking asylum at the border.

    Nearby, migrants from Venezuela and Central America sought refuge from the cold in a three-room shelter without beds, lying shoulder-to-shoulder among blankets on a concrete floor.

    The shelter has been forged gradually with repairs to an abandoned building in recent weeks. The project is the work of pastor Elias Rodriguez of the Casa Nueva Voz ministry, who grew concerned about the emergence of a small “tent city” along the Rio Grande without even a water faucet.

    “Outside there are people making fires, people waiting by the door because we only have 135 spaces,” Rodriguez said.

    “It’s been so cold that people, when I step outside, they say, ‘Please let me in even if there’s standing room only, I don’t even have to find a place on the floor to sleep as long as you just allow me to come in.’”

    ———

    FORT WORTH, Texas — “Cold might be putting it mildly,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said after the Falcons beat Baylor 30-15 on Thursday night.

    “I don’t think I’ve experienced anything like that,” he said. “When it’s not warm, it’s not easy. It never is at the United States Air Force Academy. But these guys, just the heart, the guts and the right, extraordinary young people. I’m glad they’re fighting for our country.”

    Baylor officials announced it was the coldest kickoff temperature in the history of the program based about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Dallas-Fort Worth in Waco.

    ———

    Follow AP coverage of weather at: https://apnews.com/hub/weather

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  • Winter storm cancels flights, closes schools in Canada

    Winter storm cancels flights, closes schools in Canada

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    TORONTO — A major winter storm hitting Ontario and Quebec on Friday caused widespread flight cancellations and school closures, and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers on Friday, with an Environment Canada meteorologist warning of a possible once-in-a-decade weather event.

    Environment Canada predicted strong winds, heavy snowfall and possible flash freezing, issuing winter storm warnings for the vast majority of Ontario and Quebec.

    “We may only see one of these storms every five or 10 years,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Mitch Meredith. “I’ve only seen a couple of storms like this in the last 20 years.”

    Environment Canada said flash, or sudden, freezes were likely as rain turned to heavy snow on Friday in parts of southern Ontario, creating dangerous driving conditions.

    Ontario Provincial Police shut down Highway 401 west of London on Friday morning after reporting multiple collisions. Meanwhile, strong winds began to wreak havoc on provincial utilities. Hydro Quebec said outages were affecting more than 225,000 customers.

    Hydro One, Ontario’s largest electricity utility, said roughly 45,000 customers were without power as of 11 a.m. Hydro Ottawa said 25,000 customers were without power, mainly due to branches downing wires. In Quebec, many regions were expected to receive a mix of heavy snow, rain and strong winds.

    The storm upended holiday travel plans for thousands of people as airlines preemptively canceled flights, with more disruptions expected.

    WestJet, Canada’s second largest airline, announced late Thursday that it was canceling flights at airports in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. It announced 300 “proactive” flight cancellations on Friday for B.C., southern Ontario and Quebec due to the bad weather. That brought the airline’s total cancellations since Monday to 1,196, according to an emailed statement.

    Air Canada said Friday that it had canceled “a number of flights” in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto, including all of its flights out of Toronto’s downtown island airport, citing the storm, reduced airport capacity and operational constraints.

    Rob Milton, who was travelling with his wife, said their flight to Quebec was canceled Friday morning out of Toronto’s Pearson airport, throwing a major wrench in the couple’s plans to celebrate Christmas in Quebec City. “We had a hotel in Quebec booked; we had to cancel it. We had restaurants; we had to cancel those. We had the whole weekend planned,” he said at the airport.

    Daniel Araya, who was traveling with his family from Chile to Vancouver, was stuck at Pearson after his fight was delayed due to the weather.

    “We really are hoping for a Christmas miracle,” he said. “We spent a lot of time to get here and it will be really sad if we can’t make it to Vancouver to see my sister.”

    The Toronto Transit Commission took out of service 41 bus stops in hilly areas that are difficult to navigate in snowy and icy conditions. GO Transit, which serves the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, canceled express trains and reduced train service during peak times.

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  • Husky Boy Relegated To Standing Next To Santa

    Husky Boy Relegated To Standing Next To Santa

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  • Holiday travel upended as forecasters warn of ‘bomb cyclone’

    Holiday travel upended as forecasters warn of ‘bomb cyclone’

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    MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Thousands of flights were canceled and homeless shelters were overflowing Thursday amid one of the most treacherous holiday travel seasons the U.S. has seen in decades, with temperatures plummeting 50 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas and forecasters warning of an impending “bomb cyclone” that could make conditions even worse before Christmas.

    The frigid air was moving through the central United States to the east, with windchill advisories affecting about 135 million people over the coming days, weather service meteorologist Ashton Robinson Cook said Thursday. Places like Des Moines, Iowa, will feel like minus 37 degrees, making it possible to suffer frostbite in less than five minutes.

    “This is not like a snow day when you were a kid,” President Joe Biden warned Thursday in the Oval Office after a briefing from federal officials. “This is serious stuff.”

    Forecasters are expecting a bomb cyclone — when atmospheric pressure drops very quickly in a strong storm — to develop late Thursday and into Friday near the Great Lakes. That will stir up blizzard conditions, including heavy winds and snow, Cook said.

    In South Dakota, Rosebud Sioux Tribe emergency manager Robert Oliver said tribal authorities have been working to clear roads to deliver propane and fire wood to homes, but face a relentless wind that has created drifts over 10 feet in some places.

    “This weather and the amount of equipment we have — we don’t have enough,” Oliver said, noting that rescues of people stranded in their homes had to be halted early Thursday when the hydraulic fluid in heavy equipment froze amid a 41 below zero windchill.

    He said five have died in recent storms, including a blizzard from last week.

    In Texas, temperatures were expected to quickly plummet Thursday, but state leaders promised there wouldn’t be a repeat of the February 2021 storm that overwhelmed the state’s power grid and was blamed for hundreds of deaths.

    The cold weather extended to El Paso and across the border into Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, where migrants have been camping outside or filling shelters as they await a decision on whether the U.S. will lift restrictions that have prevented many from seeking asylum.

    Elsewhere in the U.S., authorities worried about the potential for power failures and warned people to take precautions to protect older and homeless people and livestock — and, if possible, to postpone travel. Some utilities were urging customers to turn down their thermostats to conserve energy.

    “This event could be life-threatening if you are stranded,” according to an online post by the National Weather Service in Minnesota, where officials reported dozens of crashes.

    In Kansas City, Missouri, one person died after a vehicle overturned into an icy creek, police said.

    Michigan State Police prepared to deploy additional troopers to help motorists. And along a toll road on Interstate 90 in northern Indiana, crews were braced to clear as much as a foot of snow as meteorologists warned of blizzard conditions there starting Thursday evening.

    “If you’re looking to get to someone’s house for the holidays and you haven’t left by now it could get dicey soon,” said Rick Fedder, the chief operating officer of ITR Concession Co., the toll road’s private operator.

    The School District of Philadelphia, the largest in Pennsylvania, announced that Friday’s final classes of the calendar year would be held online rather than in-person as scheduled. In Allegheny County in the western part of the state, public works spokesman Brent Wasko said officials would deploy 33 salt trucks but that pretreating the roads wasn’t an option because expected rainfall Thursday night and Friday morning would wash the salt away.

    More than 2,156 flights within, into or out of the U.S. had been canceled as of Thursday afternoon, according to the tracking site FlightAware. Airlines have also canceled 1,576 Friday flights. Airports in Chicago and Denver were reporting the most cancelations.

    Among those with canceled flights was Ashley Sherrod, who planned to fly from Nashville to Flint, Michigan, on Thursday afternoon. Sherrod is now debating whether to drive or risk booking a Saturday flight she worries will be canceled.

    “My family is calling, they want me home for Christmas, but they want me to be safe too,” said Sherrod, whose bag — including the Grinch pajamas she was planning to wear to a family party — is packed and ready by the door. “Christmas is starting to, for lack of a better word, suck.”

    Amtrak, meanwhile, canceled service on more than 20 routes, primarily in the Midwest.

    Some shelters in the Detroit area already were at capacity but still making room.

    “We are not sending anyone back into this cold,” Aisha Morrell-Ferguson, a spokeswoman for COTS, a family-only shelter, told the Detroit News.

    And in Portland, Oregon, officials opened four emergency shelters. In the city’s downtown, Steven Venus tried to get on a light-rail train to get out of the cold after huddling on the sidewalk overnight in below-zero temperatures.

    “My toes were freezing off,” he said, a sleeping bag wrapped around his head, as he paused near a flimsy tent where another homeless person was taking shelter.

    Courtney Dodds, a spokeswoman for the Union Gospel Mission, said teams from her organization had been going out to try to convince people to seek shelter.

    “It can be really easy for people to doze off and fall asleep and wind up losing their lives because of the cold weather.”

    In Montana, temperatures fell as low as 50 below zero (minus 46 Celsius) at Elk Park, a mountain pass on the Continental Divide. Schools and several ski areas closed, and several thousand people lost power.

    Near Big Sandy, Montana, rancher Rich Roth said he wasn’t too concerned about his 3,500 pregnant cows weathering the cold snap, saying “they’re pretty dang resilient animals.”

    In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine warned of a “unique and dangerous” situation of flash freezing Thursday night statewide. He also urged people to check on their neighbors and loved ones.

    In famously snowy Buffalo, New York, forecasters predicted a “once-in-a-generation storm” because of heavy lake-effect snow, wind gusts as high as 65 mph (105 kph), whiteouts and the potential for extensive power outages. Mayor Byron Brown urged people to stay home, and the NHL postponed the Buffalo Sabres’ home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

    Denver, also no stranger to winter storms, was the coldest it has been in 32 years on Thursday, when the temperature dropped to minus 24 (minus 31 Celsius) in the morning at the airport.

    In Charleston, South Carolina, a coastal flood warning was in effect Thursday. The area, a popular tourist destination for its mild winters, braced for strong winds and freezing temperatures.

    The wintry weather extended into Canada, causing delays and cancellations earlier in the week at Vancouver International Airport. A major winter storm was expected Friday into Saturday in Toronto, where wind gusts as high as 60 mph (100 kph) were predicted to cause blowing snow and limited visibility, Environment Canada said.

    ___

    Bleed reported from Little Rock, Arkansas. Contributing to this report were Associated Press journalists Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit, Gillian Flaccus in Portland, Oregon, Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Rick Callahan in Indianapolis, Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia, and Jackie Quinn and Zeke Miller in Washington.

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  • Thursday flight cancellations top 2,300 nationwide, disrupting holiday travel | CNN Business

    Thursday flight cancellations top 2,300 nationwide, disrupting holiday travel | CNN Business

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    CNN
     — 

    Snow, rain, ice, wind and frigid temperatures are disrupting air travel plans across the United States as well as bus and Amtrak passenger train service.

    Airlines canceled more than 2,390 US flights by 8:30 ET p.m. Thursday and proactively canceled more than 2,200 flights for Friday, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware. Even for Saturday, more than 125 flights were already canceled.

    Delays were even more extensive on Thursday: More than 9,000 as of 8:30 p.m. ET.

    The impacts are being felt hardest in Chicago and Denver, where around a quarter of arrivals and departures – hundreds of flights at each airport – were canceled on Thursday, FlightAware data show.

    At one point Thursday at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, delays averaging 159 minutes – almost three hours – were being caused by snow and ice, according to a notice from the Federal Aviation Administration.

    Temperatures at the O’Hare dropped to 5 degrees Fahrenheit (-15 Celsius) around 6:45 p.m. local time. Light snow and fog/mist were reported by the National Weather Service.

    The FAA said departing aircraft at Dallas Love, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver and Minneapolis airports require a spraying of de-icing fluid for safe travel.

    In the busy New York City metro area, the FAA warned that Newark flights should expect delays because of visibility issues.

    The region’s three large airports are all warning travelers that the incoming winter weather front may disrupt their travels.

    “Flight activity at #LaGuardiaAirport may be disrupted by heavy rain and strong winds later today and Friday. Travelers, please confirm flight status with your airline before heading to the airport,” LaGuardia Airport posted on Twitter. John F. Kennedy and Newark Airport also posted similar notices.

    Many airlines have issued weather waivers allowing travelers to change their itineraries without penalty during a short window.

    For those whose flights are still scheduled to fly, the Transportation Security Administration is recommending that passengers arrive at the airport earlier than usual.

    John Busch, Reagan National Airport’s TSA federal security director, told reporters that all airports “expect to be busier this holiday season than we’ve been in several years coming out of the pandemic. We’ve already seen some of our busiest days, yesterday and today and we expect maybe Friday 30th ahead of the New Year’s holiday can be also a very busy day.”

    But Busch added that TSA is “very well prepared to handle additional volume and throughput for our security checkpoints.”

    Maria Ihekwaba, who was traveling from Chicago to Clear Lake, Iowa, with her granddaughter on Thursday morning, told CNN she was trying to depart as soon as possible.

    “Especially when you’re traveling from Chicago, you never know what could happen in Chicago because it’s the Windy City,” Ihekwaba said.

    Traveler Kari Lucas, from San Diego, told CNN she was visiting her sister and brother-in-law, but cut the trip short as she didn’t want to get caught in the impending weather.

    “I was worried because San Diego, we don’t get these snowstorms,” she said. “So I don’t like it to be trapped in the airport for long periods of time.”

    “It seemed like the best choice to make right now,” she said.

    It’s not just flights that are being affected by the bomb cyclone.

    Greyhound issued a service alert on Thursday warning customers that those traveling in the Midwest over the next two days may have their trips delayed or canceled altogether.

    Greyhound, the largest provider of intercity bus service, listed more than a dozen cities from West Virginia to Minnesota that are among those impacted. They include:

    • Charleston, West Virginia
    • Chicago
    • Cleveland
    • Dallas
    • Danville, Illinois
    • Davenport, Iowa
    • Denver
    • Detroit
    • Indianapolis
    • Kansas City
    • Minneapolis
    • St. Louis
    • Wichita, Kansas

    Greyhound said riders can call 1-833-233-8507 to reschedule.

    Amtrak has also been forced to delay or cancel passenger service for some lines in the Midwest and Northeast.

    Click here for disruptions the rail service posted as of 5 p.m. Thursday.

    In its notice, Amtrak said that “customers with reservations on trains that are being modified will typically be accommodated on trains with similar departure times or another day.

    “Amtrak will waive additional charges for customers looking to change their reservation during the modified schedule by calling our reservation center at 1-800-USA-RAIL.”

    FedEx says it is watching the winter weather and has “contingency plans in place to help keep our team members safe and lessen any impact” on Christmas deliveries.

    “In anticipation of severe weather, we have been repositioning assets so we can provide service where and when it is safe to do so,” FedEx told CNN in a statement.

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  • A ‘Bomb Cyclone’ Threatens to Make Holiday Travel a Nightmare

    A ‘Bomb Cyclone’ Threatens to Make Holiday Travel a Nightmare

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    Santa Claus might want to sit this Christmas out.

    Meteorologists are warning that a massive winter blizzard will hit a large portion of the U.S. in the next few days. Described as a “bomb cyclone,” the storm will bring heavy snowfall and bone-chilling temperatures, disrupting travel plans for millions of Americans.

    The terrible weather couldn’t have arrived at a worse time.

    According to the Automobile Association of America, 112.7 million people will journey 50 miles or more away from home from December 23 to January 2 this season, an increase of 3.6 million people from last year.

    But as of Wednesday night, 200 million people were under extreme weather alerts as the storm moved eastward toward the Plains, Midwest, and Great Lakes. The storm will also bring strong winds and a possible flash freeze to parts of the Midwest, East, and South.

    Winter Storm Warnings have been issued all the way from Denver to Buffalo.

    Already, more than 484 U.S. flights scheduled between Wednesday and Friday have been canceled, according to the flight-tracking service FlightAware.

    Related: The Rise in Natural Disasters Is Putting More Businesses at Risk. Are You Protected?

    What is a bomb cyclone?

    A bomb cyclone happens when atmospheric pressure at the center of a storm drops rapidly to about 1 [millibar]every hour for 24 hours, causing freezing temperatures, heavy winds, and heavy snow.

    “It’s called a bomb cyclone because a low pressure (or cyclone) undergoes ‘bombogenesis,’ which refers to the quick rate at which the low pressure develops,” Mike Bettes, a meteorologist for The Weather Channel, told CBS News.

    The combination of life-threatening temperatures and strong winds also leads to dangerous wind chills.

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  • EXPLAINER: Arctic blast sweeps US, bomb cyclone possible

    EXPLAINER: Arctic blast sweeps US, bomb cyclone possible

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    NEW YORK — An arctic blast is bringing extreme cold, heavy snow and intense wind across much of the U.S. this week — just in time for the holidays.

    The weather system, which may build into a “bomb cyclone,” is expected to move east in the days leading up to Christmas, disrupting travel and causing hazardous winter conditions. Where is this winter weather coming from, and what’s in store for the coming days?

    WHAT’S HAPPENING?

    A front of cold air is moving down from the Arctic, sending temperatures plunging.

    Much of the U.S. will see below-average temperatures through the middle and end of the week, said Bob Oravec, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.

    Temperatures may drop by more than 20 degrees Fahrenheit (11 degrees Celsius) in just a few hours, the National Weather Service predicts.

    And with winds also expected to pick up, wind chill temperatures could drop to dangerous lows far below zero — enough to cause frostbite within minutes. In parts of the Plains, the wind chill could dip as low as minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 57 Celsius).

    On top of the frigid cold, the weather system is expected to send a snowstorm through the Midwest near the end of the week.

    Those in the Plains, the Upper Midwest and the Great Lakes should expect blizzard conditions as heavy winds whip up the snow, according to the National Weather Service.

    WHO WILL BE AFFECTED?

    Pretty much everyone east of the Rockies — around two-thirds of the country — will see extreme weather in the coming days, said Ryan Maue, a private meteorologist in the Atlanta area.

    Though much of the West Coast will be shielded from the cold, the Arctic front is expected to pass east and south all the way through Florida.

    As for the snow, those in the Midwest will probably see a “heck of a storm,” though blizzard conditions aren’t expected to hit the East Coast, Maue said. Some spots around the Great Lakes may see upwards of a foot of snow by Friday, the National Weather Service predicted.

    Heavy snowfall and intense winds could be bad news for travel, Oravec said. Airports in the Midwest, including the travel hub of Chicago, will likely face shutdowns as the blizzard comes through later in the week.

    And for those planning to hit the road for the holidays, “you’re going to have pretty serious whiteout conditions,” Maue cautioned.

    HOW LONG WILL IT LAST?

    This weather system is expected to bring some major “weather whiplash,” said Judah Cohen, a winter storm expert for Atmospheric Environmental Research.

    The cold isn’t going to stick around for long. After the dramatic plunge that will keep temperatures low for about a week, “everything will snap back to normal,” Cohen said.

    Shortly after Christmas, temperatures will start to warm up again, moving from west to east. They are likely to remain near normal through the end of the year in most of the U.S.

    WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?

    It all started farther north, as frigid air collected over the snow-covered ground in the Arctic, Maue said.

    Then the jet stream — wobbling air currents in the middle and upper parts of the atmosphere — began pushing this cold pool down into the U.S.

    As this arctic air is pushed into the warmer, moister air ahead of it, the system can quickly develop into serious weather — including what’s known as a “bomb cyclone,” a fast-developing storm in which atmospheric pressure falls very quickly over 24 hours.

    These severe weather events usually form over bodies of water, which have lots of warmth and moisture to feed the storm, Maue said. But with the huge amount of cold air coming through, we could see a rare bomb cyclone forming over land.

    Whether this storm technically qualifies as a bomb cyclone depends on how quickly the pressure drops — but either way, the snowfall plus high winds will make for an intense bout of winter weather.

    IS THIS NORMAL?

    The storm is definitely a strong one, but “not unheard of for the winter seasons,” Oravec said.

    It’s pretty normal to have cold air build up in the winter. This week, though, shifts in the jet stream are pushing the air more to the southeast than usual, Oravec said — sweeping the freeze across the country and making storm conditions more intense.

    The U.S. probably won’t reach record-breaking lows, like those seen in the cold snap of 1983 or the polar vortex of 2014, Maue said.

    Still, “for most people alive, this will be a memorable, top-10 extreme cold event,” Maue said.

    ———

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Storm adds uncertainty to strong holiday travel demand

    Storm adds uncertainty to strong holiday travel demand

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    Concerns about illness or inflation aren’t stopping Americans from hitting the roads and airports this holiday season. But a massive winter storm might.

    Forecasters predict an onslaught of heavy snow, ice, flooding and even tornadoes from Thursday to Saturday in a broad swath of the country, from the Plains and Midwest to the East Coast. A surge of Arctic air will follow. The Christmas weekend could be the coldest in decades.

    The blast of frigid weather began hammering the Pacific Northwest Tuesday morning, and is expected to move to the northern Rockies, then grip the Plains in a deep-freeze and blanket the Midwest with heavy snowfall, forecasters say. By Friday, the arctic front is forecast to spread bone-chilling cold as far south as Florida.

    Authorities across the country are worried about the potential for power outages and warned people to take precautions to protect the elderly, the homeless and livestock — and, if possible, to postpone travel.

    The northern-most regions of the U.S. could see wind chills approaching 70 degrees below zero (minus 57 Celsius) — cold enough to leave exposed skin frostbitten in a matter of minutes. The heaviest snow is expected in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, according to the National Weather Service, and frigid wind will be fierce across the country’s mid-section.

    For travelers, an early sign of trouble came Tuesday in Seattle, where a winter storm caused at least 192 flight cancellations, according to the FlightAware tracking service. Greyhound also canceled bus service between Seattle and Spokane.

    Airlines offered travelers the option of choosing new flights to avoid the bad weather. Delta, American, United and Southwest waived change fees at airports that might be affected.

    The Transportation Safety Administration expected Dec. 22 and Dec. 30 to be the busiest days at U.S. airports, with traffic expected to be close to pre-pandemic levels.

    Airports said they would work hard to stay open. Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports said they have 350 pieces of equipment and 400,000 gallons of pavement de-icing fluid between them to keep runways and taxiways clear.

    The weather added uncertainty to what was expected to be a busy travel season. Earlier this month, AAA estimated that nearly 113 million people would travel 50 miles from home or more between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2. That’s 4% higher than last year, although still short of the record 119 million in 2019.

    Most planned to travel by car. About 6% will travel by air, AAA said. Either way, many travelers could find themselves hastily changing their itineraries.

    Joel Lustre originally planned to drive from Bloomington, Indiana, to McGregor, Iowa, on Thursday. But he shifted his work schedule, and his wife cancelled an appointment so they could leave Wednesday and beat the storm.

    Kurt Ebenhoch, a consumer travel advocate and former airline executive, said the fee waivers for inclement weather that airlines began offering about 20 years ago give consumers valuable time ahead of a storm to figure out alternate days and routes.

    But consumers need to read the fine print carefully. Delta, for example, is currently waiving any difference in fares for rebooked travel that happens before Dec. 25 for flights out of the Pacific Northwest. But if the flights are rebooked to a date after Dec. 25, passengers may have to pay the fare difference.

    Ebenhoch said passengers have the right to ask the airline to book them on a different airline’s flight if there are no options that meet their needs. And if the airline cancels the flight, consumers have the right to a full refund, not just credits for future travel.

    The urge to travel and visit family and friends over the holidays appeared to outweigh concerns about illness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said coronavirus cases and deaths have increased in recent weeks, and the trio of COVID-19, seasonal flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) continues to stress the health care system.

    William Karr was traveling Monday from Los Angeles to Minneapolis, where he planned to meet up with his sister and then drive to Iowa. Karr said he would wear a mask on the flight to avoid getting sick over the holidays, but he has taken other flights unmasked.

    “I think the precautions sort of go out the window at a certain point, and people are willing to catch COVID if it means they’ll be home with their families,” Karr said.

    Inflation also didn’t seem to be cutting into holiday travel demand. The average round-trip airfare rose 22% to $397 in the second quarter of this year — the most recent period available — according to U.S. government data. That was higher than overall U.S. price inflation, which peaked at 9% in June.

    Stacie Seal, who was flying Monday from Los Angeles to her home in Boise, Idaho, said her family had opted to visit Disneyland using two free companion tickets, which are earned through airline credit cards.

    “If I had to buy the tickets without a companion fare, I’d probably pause and think about the price now,” she said.

    Lindsey Roeschke, a travel and hospitality analyst with Morning Consult, a market research company, said travelers appear to be cutting back in other ways.

    In a recent survey, Morning Consult found that 28% of U.S. travelers were planning a one-day trip for the holidays, up from 14% last year. There was also an uptick in the number of people planning to stay with friends or family instead of at hotels. Roeschke thinks higher prices were a factor.

    “Inflation is still playing a role,” Roeschke said. “It’s not keeping people from traveling, but it’s maybe shifting the way they actually travel.”

    ———

    Associated Press News Associate Amancai Biraben contributed from Los Angeles.

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  • Storm adds uncertainty to strong holiday travel demand

    Storm adds uncertainty to strong holiday travel demand

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    Concerns about illness or inflation aren’t stopping Americans from hitting the roads and airports this holiday season. But a massive winter storm might.

    Forecasters predict an onslaught of heavy snow, ice, flooding and even tornadoes from Thursday to Saturday in a broad swath of the country, from the Plains and Midwest to the East Coast. A surge of Arctic air will follow. The Christmas weekend could be the coldest in decades.

    An early sign of trouble came Tuesday in Seattle, where a winter storm caused at least 192 flight cancellations, according to the FlightAware tracking service. Greyhound also canceled bus service between Seattle and Spokane.

    Airlines offered travelers the option of choosing new flights to avoid the bad weather. Delta, American, United and Southwest waived change fees at airports that might be affected.

    The Transportation Safety Administration expected Dec. 22 and Dec. 30 to be the busiest days at U.S. airports, with traffic expected to be close to pre-pandemic levels.

    Airports said they would work hard to stay open. Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports said they have 350 pieces of equipment and 400,000 gallons of pavement de-icing fluid between them to keep runways and taxiways clear.

    The weather added uncertainty to what was expected to be a busy travel season. Earlier this month, AAA estimated that nearly 113 million people would travel 50 miles from home or more between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2. That’s 4% higher than last year, although still short of the record 119 million in 2019.

    Most planned to travel by car. About 6% will travel by air, AAA said. Either way, many travelers could find themselves hastily changing their itineraries.

    Joel Lustre originally planned to drive from Bloomington, Indiana, to McGregor, Iowa, on Thursday. But he shifted his work schedule, and his wife cancelled an appointment so they could leave Wednesday and beat the storm.

    Kurt Ebenhoch, a consumer travel advocate and former airline executive, said the fee waivers for inclement weather that airlines began offering about 20 years ago give consumers valuable time ahead of a storm to figure out alternate days and routes.

    But consumers need to read the fine print carefully. Delta, for example, is currently waiving any difference in fares for rebooked travel that happens before Dec. 25 for flights out of the Pacific Northwest. But if the flights are rebooked to a date after Dec. 25, passengers may have to pay the fare difference.

    Ebenhoch said passengers have the right to ask the airline to book them on a different airline’s flight if there are no options that meet their needs. And if the airline cancels the flight, consumers have the right to a full refund, not just credits for future travel.

    The urge to travel and visit family and friends over the holidays appeared to outweigh concerns about illness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said coronavirus cases and deaths have increased in recent weeks, and the trio of COVID-19, seasonal flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) continues to stress the health care system.

    William Karr was traveling Monday from Los Angeles to Minneapolis, where he planned to meet up with his sister and then drive to Iowa. Karr said he would wear a mask on the flight to avoid getting sick over the holidays, but he has taken other flights unmasked.

    “I think the precautions sort of go out the window at a certain point, and people are willing to catch COVID if it means they’ll be home with their families,” Karr said.

    Inflation also didn’t seem to be cutting into holiday travel demand. The average round-trip airfare rose 22% to $397 in the second quarter of this year — the most recent period available — according to U.S. government data. That was higher than overall U.S. price inflation, which peaked at 9% in June.

    Stacie Seal, who was flying Monday from Los Angeles to her home in Boise, Idaho, said her family had opted to visit Disneyland using two free companion tickets, which are earned through airline credit cards.

    “If I had to buy the tickets without a companion fare, I’d probably pause and think about the price now,” she said.

    Lindsey Roeschke, a travel and hospitality analyst with Morning Consult, a market research company, said travelers appear to be cutting back in other ways.

    In a recent survey, Morning Consult found that 28% of U.S. travelers were planning a one-day trip for the holidays, up from 14% last year. There was also an uptick in the number of people planning to stay with friends or family instead of at hotels. Roeschke thinks higher prices were a factor.

    “Inflation is still playing a role,” Roeschke said. “It’s not keeping people from traveling, but it’s maybe shifting the way they actually travel.”

    ———

    Associated Press News Associate Amancai Biraben contributed from Los Angeles.

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