US Travel Chaos: 1,800 Flights Cancelled As Winter Storm Hits NYC, Boston & Detroit

With 10 inches of snow forecast for New York and an ice storm warning in Pennsylvania, travel remains treacherous. Check the latest airport updates for JFK, Newark, and Detroit.

Millions of Americans who were returning home after the holidays have been grounded due to the brutal winter storm that moved across the United States on Friday. The “Clipper System”has brought thousands of flight cancellations and delays at the busiest airports, turning one of the busiest travel days of the year into a logistical nightmare.

At least 1,802 flights were reported cancelled, and more than 22,340 were delayed as of late Friday afternoon, according to data from FlightAware. Flights are disrupted as the National Weather Service (NWS) issues warnings of hazardous weather conditions from the Great Lakes into New England.

Airport Mayhem: New York, Detroit, And Boston Affected Mostly

Nearly half of this number is concentrated in the metropolitan area of the nation’s largest city. The three largest gateways in this nation’s largest city—JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports—are coping with the buildup as visibility reduces and every available runway needs to be cleared.

Heavy Snow: Areas of the Lower Hudson Valley, Long Island, and Connecticut will see as much as 10 inches of snow in heavy bands.

Nationwide Flight Delays: Beyond New York, Detroit reportedly has also become a large "choke point," with airlines anticipating the flow-on impacts may carry through the weekend.

"Treacherous" Road Conditions And NYC Travel Advisory

New York City officials have also issued a travel advisory, warning of the extreme low temperatures, which would not allow for melting snow, thereby creating ice rink conditions on highways.

Ice Storm Threat: The western part of Pennsylvania is threatened by an ice storm warning, where ice-covered power lines and roads that become impassable are expected.

Holiday Return Danger: “Road conditions will be hazardous for those returning from the holiday,” said the NWS in its statement, warning citizens not to go out unnecessarily until Saturday morning.

Energy Markets Respond To Cold Spell

Although everything seems stable in the US power grid at present, a shock wave has run through the energy market in response to the sudden lowering of temperature.

Natural Gas Spike: Futures contracts for natural gas in the US increased 3.3% last Friday due to peak demand for heating fuel.

Blustery Forecast: A more powerful cold front is predicted to roll through the area in D.C. and the Mid-Atlantic over the weekend, guaranteeing a cold finish to the year 2025.

Regional Forecast: Freezing Rain to "Clipper" Systems "A complex weather pattern is expected as a clipper system moving out of the Midwest interacts with a strong high pressure system moving out of eastern Canada."

This sets up a dangerous pattern of freeze rain, sleet, and heavy snow for the upper Midwest and Northeast through tomorrow morning, according to the weather service.

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