More than 4,000 US flights were cancelled ahead of a severe winter storm that had already caused power outages affecting over 230,000 customers in states including Texas and was poised to paralyze eastern regions with heavy snowfall. Forecasters predicted widespread, severe weather conditions extending from the South through parts of the Midwest by Sunday and into the following week.
President Donald Trump approved federal emergency disaster declarations for several southeastern states on Saturday, urging residents to take precautions as he wrote, “We will continue to monitor and stay in touch with all States affected by this storm. Stay Safe and Stay Warm.”
Emergency declarations were issued by 17 additional states and the District of Columbia in response to weather emergencies declared across the region.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem reported that some 230,000 US customers had no electricity as of 2:44 AM EST on Sunday, with the bulk located in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Tennessee, and New Mexico. PowerOutage.com data showed a significant increase in outages compared to previous estimates.
The Department of Energy authorized Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to deploy backup generation resources at major facilities like data centers, aiming to mitigate power failures in the state. The same order was issued for PJM Interconnection grid operator in the mid-Atlantic region on Sunday.
National Weather Service predictions indicated widespread ice accumulation and record cold temperatures across much of the Southeast, with impacts expected to be “crippling to locally catastrophic.” Temperatures were forecast to drop into the Great Plains by Monday. As of 10:21 PM EST, FlightAware data showed that nearly 4,000 flights originally scheduled for Saturday had been cancelled.
Major US airlines issued alerts urging passengers to stay alert for potential flight changes and cancellations due to weather conditions in affected regions. Delta Air Lines canceled additional flights in the morning at Atlanta, Boston, and New York City airports, relocating experts to support de-icing and baggage operations at southern hubs.
JetBlue announced it had already cancelled about 1,000 flights through Monday, while United Airlines prepared for severe weather by proactively cancelling some flights in areas with worst conditions. US electric grid operators took precautionary measures against potential blackouts.