10,000 Flights Canceled After Winter Storm Dumps 2 Feet Of Snow On Northeast

Happy Blizzard Day to all who celebrate, and sorry about your travel plans if you had any. A massive winter storm has hit the Northeast, dumping at least a foot of snow on Manhattan, two feet out on Long Island, and blanketing much of New England in white powder. The kids who get to enjoy a snow day are probably all pretty happy right now, but the same probably can't be said for anyone who expected to travel today, since FlightAware is currently reporting nearly 6,000 flight cancelations and 13,000 delays.

That's a lot of canceled flights, and on its own would be enough to declare a winter travel disaster, but the situation is actually much worse than it may initially appear. The storm actually began on Sunday, not this morning, with a reported 4,001 flight cancelations and 24,341 delays as it rolled in. That brings the total number of flight cancelations to nearly 10,000. And, while the storm is expected to finally stop dropping snow later today, FlightAware reports that we're still looking at 1,684 cancelations and at least 669 delays. 

Many of the airports experiencing the largest number of cancelations are the ones you would expect — JFK, LaGuardia, Boston Logan, Philadelphia, etc. — but airports are so interconnected, some of the airports with the most cancelations are a little further from the Northeast than you might first think. That includes Washington, D.C.'s Ronald Reagan, and Chicago's O'Hare airports, as well as Atlanta, Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale. Heck, even Charlotte is currently looking at more than 70 canceled flights. So, even if you aren't in the Northeast, your travel could still be screwed up.

While the blizzard caused airlines to cancel thousands of flights, many travelers left stranded also found themselves unable to simply drive to their destination, as CBS News reports local leaders in New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island announced bans on non-essential travel. And all because the National Weather Service called travel conditions "nearly impossible," and New York's Governor Hochul claimed the state was facing one of the worst storms it had seen in the last 150 years. Which is, quite frankly, ridiculous. 

If I want to take my lowered Nissan 350Z out in 14 inches of snow, immediately get stuck, block the snowplows, hold up emergency services, and freeze for hours waiting on the street corner until someone can finally get me out, that's my right as a free American. How dare Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani tell me that's "a bad idea"? Back in my day, you didn't have to think about how your actions might affect others, and I'm not about to start doing that now.

Unfortunately for hundreds of thousands of households, simply staying home isn't a safe option, either. The storm has also knocked out power throughout the northeast, potentially putting lives at risk as cold temperatures continue. Poweroutage.us reports more than 288,000 outages in Massachusetts, where temperatures in Boston are currently in the 20s with a windchill that makes it feel like it's in the single digits. Meanwhile, in New Jersey, where it's slightly warmer but not by much, the number of power outages isn't as high, but we're still looking at more than 130,000 power outages. 

If you're one of the ones stuck in this storm, good luck, stay safe, and hopefully, you're well stocked on soup, cocoa, blankets, and those little gummies that make you feel silly. Sounds like you're going to need 'em.