Snowmaker Up North Leads To Canceled Flights Down South
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) - A strong snowmaking system moving into the Mid-Atlantic and northeast has led to flight cancellations in sunny, and warm, South Florida.
The situation at Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is not as dire as it was earlier in the day.
Some airlines are resuming a few flights to New England as that fast moving storm flies by.
Canceled: It was a word that littered arrival and departure boards at MIA and FLL on Thursday.
"I was listed for D.C. but all D.C. flights have been canceled," said traveler Rashida Mitchell. "I'm hoping to get a flight at 8:25 tonight."
Everyone had varying tales of travel woe.
"Leaving to Helsinki, Finland through JFK [airport], and now I'm re-routed," said traveler Tuomas Saastamoinen.
His delay is expected to be at least half a day.
If there was inconvenience, there was also added expense.
"We had to get a hotel, pay for it ourselves, they won't compensate for it," said Melanie King. "Now we're having to fly out later tomorrow, so now we're missing like two days of our vacation."
The expense, delays and cancelations did not leave everyone with despair.
"I'm OK, it's cool, I am in Miami. Who wants to go back to the snow? I am all right," Mitchell said with a laugh.
Sometimes you just have to put on a happy face.
As of 4 p.m. at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, 102 flights were delayed and over 120 flights had been canceled into airports in New York, New Jersey, Boston, and Philadelphia. Those numbers were expected to increase throughout the day.
Miami International Airport reported 86 flights had been canceled and 33 delayed to the northeast as of 4 p.m.
Those numbers pale in comparison to the nearly 1,700 flights that have been canceled at New York City's three major airports.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says Newark International has the most cancellations with 607 as of 6:30 a.m. Thursday, followed by 572 at LaGuardia and 508 at JFK for a total of 1,687 flights. The agency says that's roughly 50 percent of the daily flights at the three airports.
Airlines anticipating this blizzard canceled more than 2,000 flights in advance on Wednesday. Some are now being reinstated, but you should call your airline before heading to the airport.
The National Weather Service predicted that the Boston area and eastern Maine could get 12 to 18 inches of snow, and a blizzard warning has been issued for all of Long Island until 6 p.m. Thursday. New York City could see 8 to 12 inches and the Philadelphia area 4 to 8 inches. Near whiteout conditions are possible, with the snow expected to fall at a clip of 2 to 4 inches per hour at its peak.
Officials also are warning of high winds, coastal flooding and power outages.
The snow is expected taper off by the early afternoon in the Philadelphia and New York City areas, but New Englanders should brace for snowfall through the evening commute.
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