Winter Storm Disrupts US Travel with Over 2100 Flight Cancellations

According to the Economic Desk of Webangah News Agency, a major winter storm has triggered mass flight cancellations across the eastern United States, with 2,122 flights grounded by Saturday afternoon New York time. The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings stretching from southern Texas to Massachusetts, with meteorologists predicting 6-8 inches of snowfall and 45 mph winds along the Atlantic seaboard.

Bob Oravec, lead forecaster at the Weather Prediction Center, reported the storm system currently affecting Virginia, Tennessee, the Carolinas and northeastern Georgia marks the second wave of travel disruptions this week, though less severe than the earlier event that canceled over 10,000 flights. PowerOutage data shows 194,000 customers without electricity across Louisiana, Tennessee and Mississippi, while 186 temperature records are expected to fall as mercury levels plunge 20-25°F below seasonal averages.

Major hubs including Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago and Raleigh-Durham airports experienced significant operational challenges. The cold snap now threatens Florida’s citrus belt, with Polk County – the nation’s top orange-producing region – bracing for subfreezing temperatures. Oravec told Bloomberg that while temperatures will moderate slightly next week, below-normal conditions will persist with additional winter storms forecast for the eastern US.