MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - As an extreme winter storm is set to hit nearly half of the United States, travelers passing through South Florida airports expressed concerns about potential flight delays and cancellations.
7News cameras on Thursday captured a busy line at the various security checkpoints at Miami International Airport, as travelers hope to beat the storm that forecasters said could be the most crippling one some areas have seen in years.
Late Thursday night, Delta Air Lines canceled flights across five states.
Friday afternoon, things were running smoothly at MIA as airport officials tell 7News airlines preemptively rescheduled flights because they anticipated issues with the winter storm. MIA reports 11 cancellations for Friday afternoon, with most of them being out of Dallas. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport reports just two cancellations.
MIA reported 28 canceled flights for Saturday, and FLL reported 14. Those numbers are expected to increase as the weekend goes on.
At MIA, traveler Ja’Kenya Bershell is scheduled to fly through Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
“It was supposed to be at 9 tonight, so I moved it up, so I wouldn’t be impacted by the storm,” she said.
It was a similar situation for traveler Paola Tucunduva.
“We are going to ski in Colorado, but our flight stopped by Dallas, and it was supposed to be tomorrow. Unfortunately, it was canceled because of the storm, and we could rearrange for this morning,” she said.
It was a calm Friday afternoon at both MIA, FLL, reflecting the calm before the storm. Cameras captured modest lines as travelers tried to make it out before the inclement weather leads to mass cancellations and delays this weekend.
“I think we’re going to make it perfectly. We’ll probably be the last flights that land before they start running into problems,” traveler Anna Hampton.
“I mean, it is going to be chaos when we get back. Maryland is not built for snow,” said traveler Hannah Wiseman who was flying to Maryland.
While the storm is not expected to impact South Florida, it will stretch about 1,500 miles, from south to northeast, potentially bringing dangerous ice and feet of snow to tens of millions of people over the weekend.
At least 182 million people across 45 states are under alert.
Officials have already declared emergencies across the Carolinas.
“Don’t ever wait until the last minute, ’cause supplies run out,” said Tom Marks, a manager at Cantelmi Hardware in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Forecasters said this could be “one of the most historic ice storms in modern history,” with the potential for 12 straight hours of freezing rain, which could weigh down trees and cause widespread power outages.
Heavy snow, including up to a foot in some areas, is expected north of the storm’s freezing rain zone. Areas like New York City may receive its biggest snow total the city has seen in four years.
“Where I’m going to, we’re supposed to get freezing rain and sleet,” said Bershell, “so I’m just hoping that it’s not as bad as it was a few years ago, when the lights went out, and we were without power for about a week.”
The arctic blast will also bring bone-chilling cold, potentially breaking daily high and low cold temperature records. One forecast has some areas with wind chills as low as negative 50.
“It’s getting pretty desperate out there. I guess everybody’s running out of stuff,” said Marks.
Another concern for many drivers: Ice is expected to hit southern states, making roads treacherous and power outages longer.
In Maryland, a “salt dome” has formed as crews will spread it across roads to prevent the sheet of ice that is expected to build in the coming days.
“We have about 70,000 tons of salt ready to go and our 275 plows with more equipment on standby. We’ve already started salt brining the roads all day today,” said Emily DeTitta with the Montgomery County Transportation Department.
In Texas, some residents are racing to buy portable generators to stay warm, hoping to avoid a repeat of the storm that left millions without power for days back in 2021. But officials are confident that the deep freeze won’t wreak havoc on the power grid.
“We are not anticipating any reliability concerns on the statewide electric grid,” said Pablo Vegas, CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
“We’ve made a significant amount of investment in additional generators at park and recreational facilities and in our civilian staff that can respond to any individuals that are affected by power outage,” said Kevin Oden with the Dallas Department of Emergency Management.
The anticipated snow and ice are threatening to bring air travel to a halt in many areas. Thousands of flights nationwide are expected to be impacted over the course of this weekend.
Airports are getting ready, including ATL, one of the world’s busiest.
“Our snow team, we’re doing a lot of preparation,” said ATL General Manager Ricky Smith.
“The main actions to take now are to prepare your family, prepare your home, and prepare your car,” said Georgia Emergency Management Director Josh Lamb.
United, Delta, American and Southwest airlines all released travel advisories. They’re offering options for customers to change plans if they were scheduled to travel over the next few days, even waiving re-booking fees or providing flight credits.
“It was a big surprise and nice to know, because they sent a message, you know, almost two days before out flight that they were canceling in advance,” said Tucunduva. “It was pretty easy to change our flight with no cost on the internet.”
Not everyone is nervous about the winter storm or the flights.
“We’re headed to Park City,” said MIA traveler Jerry Rodriguez. “The kids will see snow for the first time.”
Travelers are urged to check with their airline before heading to the airport and to arrive with plenty of time.
The storm is expected to exit the U.S. through New England on Monday night.
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