a winter storm The impact has spread across much of the United States, disrupting travel and canceling or delaying thousands of flights as of Monday morning. Amtrak also canceled some routes along the East Coast and mid-Atlantic states.
As of Monday morning, about 34 million Americans were under winter storm warnings, from Illinois to Mid-Atlantic states including New Jersey and Delaware. The storm, dubbed “Winter Storm Blair,” is bringing a combination of snow, ice, and plummeting temperatures across the United States, as well as wreaking havoc on motorists amid icy road conditions and blizzard-like weather. are.
As of 8 a.m. ET on Jan. 6, airlines had canceled about 1,500 flights to and from the United States, and about 900 more were delayed, according to data from flight tracking company FlightAware. Southwest Airlines had the most cancellations, with about 360, followed by American Airlines and Republic Airlines, with 176 cancellations each, according to the data.
Meanwhile, Amtrak canceled multiple trains, saying the disruption was “for the safety of Amtrak customers and employees as winter weather is forecast.” The railroad said Acela operates between Boston and Washington, D.C., but has canceled several other routes between Washington and New York and other Mid-Atlantic cities.
The storm’s reach is expected to affect the Mid-Atlantic states on Monday, with deep freezes expected as far south as Florida. Winter Storm Blair is expected to move offshore into the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday.
Polar vortices of super-cold air are usually trapped around the North Pole, but sometimes they escape or extend into the United States, Europe, and Asia, producing the intense cold of winter storm Blair. Research shows that a rapidly warming Arctic is partly responsible for the polar vortex’s lengthening and increased migration.
contributed to this report.
