Yesterday, the airlines started cancel the flight like a winter storm sweeping through the country. Unfortunately for travelers with canceled Christmas plans, today is no better than yesterday. And it will likely only continue to get worse.
washington articles report that more than 1,500 flights were canceled this morning after more than 600 were canceled yesterday. The outlook for tomorrow is also not good. High winds and snow are expected to cause major disruption in Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis-St. Paul, while low clouds could cause more trouble in Atlanta, Boston and Denver.
Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport canceled about 20 percent of flights when the article was published “in anticipation of winter weather arriving in the Chicagoland area later today.” Meanwhile, Midway canceled about 25% of its flights before 8am. On one of the two busiest air travel days of the year, that’s a big deal for many vacationers.
But it’s not just flight cancellations that cause problems with vacation travel. There was a major storm that swept through much of the country, endangering many people while driving in snow, cold rain and sub-zero temperatures. In South Dakota, for example, some drivers find themselves stranded overnight and need to be rescued.
More than 100 vehicles were stuck near Rapid City, SD yesterday, forcing emergency workers to find passengers a place to stay. Sleeping in a crib in a shelter certainly isn’t ideal heading into the holiday weekend, but it’s definitely better than spending the night in your car in sub-freezing temperatures.
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“Many vehicles break down in sub-zero temperatures. In conditions like these, even a few minutes outside can be life-threatening,” the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. But not everyone is willing to leave their car behind for a warmer place to live. “Some people have chosen to stay with their vehicles and have enough fuel and supplies. We stay in touch with those people in case their situation changes.”
Even Amtrak and Greyhound are canceling service. Amtrak said it is no longer running some cross-country and midwest routes “out of an abundance of caution and in consultation with state transportation departments, host railroads, emergency weather level and forecast.” Greyhound, meanwhile, has canceled at least 20 bus routes across the Midwest.
Considering how bad the weather is already and how much worse is expected, even choosing to drive can be too dangerous to be worth it. The stay-at-home option will obviously disappoint many travelers, but the way we see it, it’s better to see them next Christmas than take unnecessary risks that could be life-threatening. It sucks to be alone on a big holiday, but please, stay safe out there, guys.
