Thousands of flights cancelled as storm Grayson sweeps across North America
2,800 flights have been cancelled across the United States and Canada today as a “bombogenesis” – an extreme storm – sweeps across the countries this week.
The northeast has been the worst affected by storm Grayson as temperatures have collapsed to -37C, colder than on the surface of Mars. The airports that have seen the greatest impact are Newark, Boston Logan, LaGuardia and John F Kennedy.
More flights are expected to be cancelled as Grayson continues to sweep across the continent.
The storm is moving towards the southern states of Eastern Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, which will get as much as 15cm of snow along with an accumulation of ice.
Parts of New England could see 30-38cm of snow and wind gusts of 55kph by the end of week, the service said.
States of emergencies were in effect in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia and blizzard warnings from the Canadian border as far south as Virginia, Reuters reported.
Florida Governor Rick Scott on Tuesday urged residents in the northern part of his Sunshine State to prepare for the cold. His office said cold weather shelters have opened or are planning to open in 22 of the state’s 67 counties.
A bombogenesis is an arctic air mass that has collided with a warm air mass, causing a rapidly intensifying midlatitude cyclone. This is a weather system that intensifies rapidly according to US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
As the storm bears down, the arctic air mass will remain entrenched over the eastern two thirds of the country through the end of the week.
The record-low temperatures are to blame for at least nine deaths in Texas, Wisconsin, West Virginia, North Dakota and Michigan over the past several days.
The deep South faced deep freeze temperatures that threatened crops and pipes, the National Weather Service warned.
456 flights have been cancelled at Newark, 355 at Boston Logan, 267 at LaGuardia, and 171 at JFK, according to FlightAware. There are also large numbers of cancellations at Philadelphia International, Bradley International, Chicago O’Hare, Toronto, Baltimore/Washington International, Orlando International, Montreal-Trudeau, Green State and Reagan National.
Customers of Kiwi.com who may be affected by the storm are advised to check their flight status with their airline. Thank you for understanding.
