With winter weather striking the Southeastern United States on Tuesday and blanketing several states with snow and ice, travel via plane, train or car has become challenging.
By early afternoon, more than 2,000 flights were canceled in and out of the United States, according to the flight tracking service FlightAware. Many of the flight disruptions are in Texas, where airports in Houston shut down in the morning ahead of the worst of the storm. Other airports in the Southeast, including Tallahassee International Airport in Florida, announced plans to shutter later in the day.
In Louisiana, most flights were canceled at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. The airport said on its website that airlines planned to resume operations on Wednesday, weather permitting.
Both the international and regional airports in Mobile, Ala., closed on Tuesday and will reopen on Wednesday at noon, according to the Mobile Airport Authority. In Houston, George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport will reopen on Wednesday at 10 a.m. for arriving flights and 11 a.m. for departures.
When temperatures are at or below freezing, planes are sprayed with de-icing fluid that removes frost and ice to allow safe takeoffs. Airports can go through tens of thousands of gallons of de-icing fluid on a single snowy day, according to Delta Air Lines. Some airports in normally warmer areas said they were prepared for chilly weather; in Houston, George Bush Intercontinental Airport said it had 130,000 pounds of de-icing pellets and more than 32,000 gallons of de-icing liquid on hand.
In New Orleans, individual airlines maintain their own aircraft de-icing operations at the Louis Armstrong airport, a spokesman for the facility said.
Delays were also creeping up at airports. At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, departures to the airport were delayed more than an hour, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
United Airlines canceled more than 20 percent of its total scheduled flights on Tuesday. The airline is allowing passengers to reschedule their trips at no cost if their travel includes affected airports along the Gulf Coast. Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and Frontier Airlines have also issued travel waivers.
Rail service has also taken a hit because of the severe weather. Amtrak announced a handful of cancellations and delays on Tuesday and Wednesday in states including Texas, Illinois, Louisiana and Tennessee.
And as temperatures have plunged and snow has piled up in places where it’s an unlikely sight, roads have become increasingly treacherous. In Alabama, residents in Escambia County and Mobile County have been asked to stay off all roads. The winter storm has also prompted dozens of road and highway closures in Louisiana. In Georgia, the Transportation Department said that interstates, roads, state routes, and bridges have been brined, some multiple times, to mitigate snow and ice accumulation. Still, it warned residents of deteriorating conditions and requested that drivers limit travel.
North Carolina is preparing for possible rescues by stationing National Guard troops in the eastern portion of the state, Governor Josh Stein said, adding that residents should avoid traveling through Wednesday.
