Should you change your travel plans? ‘Bomb storm’ threatens Christmas tourism

How early should you get to the airport?

That’s the question most travelers know to ask during busy holiday travel times. Busy tourists, long check-in queues, busy roads and criss-crossed security are just some of the reasons holiday travelers should take an extra hour or two to get to the gate.

This Christmas, however, travelers may want to consider arriving at the airport not just an hour or so earlier than usual – but possibly a full day or two.

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The storm — a potential”tornado bomb,” according to The Weather Channel – brought bad weather to the Pacific Northwest on Tuesday, where cancellations and delays were beyond normal at busy airports like Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA) and Portland International (PDX) in Oregon.

Travel disruption is likely to only worsen this week as the storm moves east in the days leading up to Christmas.

Snow is forecast for much of the Great Plains and Midwest Wednesday through Thursday, with blizzard conditions and more than 2 feet of snow expected in some locations. The East Coast is also expected to experience mixed snow, ice and rain. Heavy rain and strong winds could hit crowded airports in the Northeast.

Unusually cold weather will also complicate travel towards the end of the storm, with temperatures dropping to the lowest levels as far south as places like Houston and Atlanta. Even New Orleans and Jacksonville, Florida, are expected to have temperatures in their 20s over the weekend. That can lead to road freezes or delay frosts at airports that don’t often experience extreme cold.

And with the worst storm to hit the Midwest and East Coast just two days before Christmas next Sunday, there may be few options for travelers stuck trying to find new routes to get home first. vacation.

However, there are viable alternatives to just hoping for the best, as major US airlines have introduced flexible rebooking waivers to allow travelers the flexibility to change their seats. change your plan to avoid the storm.

The storm has come ashore in the Pacific Northwest, where a number of cancellations and delays are being monitored in the region. Nearly one in five flights in Seattle were canceled Tuesday, and a similar number were delayed, by flight tracking service FlightAware.

Forecasts say the storm will move eastward, bringing snow to the Great Plains and Upper Midwest on Wednesday night before expanding into the Great Lakes on Thursday and lasting through Friday. Heavy rain and high winds were forecast along much of the East Coast for Thursday and Friday, including at the Northeast’s delay-prone airports in New York and Philadelphia. Freezing temperatures in the Deep South are expected for Thursday and Friday.

And while flight delays and cancellations are a possible outcome of this weather system, the likely impacts will not be limited to air travel as motorists across the Affected areas should also prepare for difficult conditions.

“The best Christmas present you can give this year is to be next to another Christmas,” The National Weather Service said in an advisory about the storm. “Plan now to delay, change or cancel travel plans.”

Air travelers also face trouble, especially if their holiday plans force them to fly through an airport in the path of the storm.

Those with the flexibility to change planes might consider leaving early to get to their destination before the storm roars through the Midwest and East.

Flights are full at this time of year, and passengers displaced by cancellations or missed connections may find some seats available on other flights. In other words, if you can be proactive and adjust your plans before many potential tourist-laden flights try to do the same, you may have more options.