More than 1,200 U.S. flights have been canceled early Monday as a brutal winter storm battered much of the southeast with inches of snowfall, ice, and high winds, causing widespread travel disruptions on a holiday weekend.
Now making its way northeast, major winter storm Izzy caused travel chaos as wintry weather conditions forced airlines to cancel thousands of flights ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday, on Monday.
At least 1,271 flights within, into or out of the United States were canceled by 6 a.m. ET on Monday, while over 374 flights were delayed, according to data from FlightAware.com. More than 200 flights at Charlotte Douglas International in North Carolina were canceled, representing nearly a third of the airport's schedule, while 40 flights were delayed.
American Airlines and its subsidiary PSA Airlines collectively canceled 477 flights, and delayed 110.
"This weekend's winter storm is expected to have a significant impact on our operation, especially at Charlotte International Airport," American Airlines said in a statement ahead of the winter storm.
American Airlines also issued a travel notice stating that customers affected by disruptions caused by winter storm Izzy would be able to rebook flights at no extra cost.
Air Canada has grounded 83 flights due to weather conditions, and delayed 33. Toronto, home of Canada's busiest airport, is poised to see snowfall of up to 15 to 20 centimeters.
On Sunday, FlightAware.com showed that in total, 3,058 flights within, into or out of the United States were canceled, while 4,656 flights were delayed.
The flight disruptions came during a long weekend for most people in the United States.
More than 100,000 power outages were recorded across much of the southeast, with North Carolina and South Carolina particularly hard hit. The states saw 34,566 and 31,922 outages reported respectively, according to poweroutage.us.
Brian Hurley, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center, told The Associated Press that as much as 10 inches of snowfall hit some parts of North Carolina.
Hurley described winter storm Izzy as "a very expansive storm."
"A lot of real estate is going to get four to eight inches of snow and a lot more are also going to get some of that ice accumulation," he said.
Wintry weather conditions have also caused chaos on the roads, the North Carolina Highway Patrol has said. Spokesperson First Sgt. Christopher Knox said the agency had responded to 300 car crashes and nearly 800 calls for assistance by mid-afternoon on Sunday.
In South Carolina, the National Guard was activated to assist with keeping roads clear.
"At the direction of South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, the South Carolina National Guard has activated approximately 120 service members to be available to support our state partners in response to the winter weather impacting areas of the state," U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Van McCarty, the adjutant general of South Carolina, said in a statement on Sunday.
Meanwhile, high wind warnings have been issued for much of the northeast, including New York City and Boston.
In a statement on Sunday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state is poised to see "one of the largest storms so far this winter."
She urged New Yorkers to avoid unnecessary travel and to pay close attention to local forecasts.
"Our crews are out in full force preparing our roadways and staging critical assets," the governor said.
The travel disruption comes after thousands of U.S. flights were canceled early January due to wintry weather conditions and uncertainty over the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus.
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