Flight delays and cancellations pile up at JFK and LaGuardia as snowstorm jams post-Christmas travel in the Northeast
People walk over the Gapstow Bridge in Central Park during a snowfall on December 14
By Rebekah Riess, Randi Kaye, Michelle Watson
New York (CNN) — A winter storm dumped heavy snow and treacherous ice onto parts of the Great Lakes and Northeast Friday evening into Saturday morning, snarling travel and knocking out power in parts of the region.
The number of delayed flights within, to or out of the United States climbed to over 6,500 on Saturday and about 900 were canceled, according to FlightAware. The New York metropolitan area’s three major airports are among the hardest hit and additional disruptions are reported at Boston Logan International Airport. The challenges follow more than 8,500 delays and 1,700 cancellations on Friday.
Flights at John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty International airports were delayed for up to two hours Saturday morning, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
At LaGuardia, flight information display systems were streaked with red cancellation notices Saturday morning, while the aprons outside were blanketed in white, with few planes to be seen amid the snow. But travelers appeared patient, seemingly taking the delays and cancellations in stride.
Waiting at LaGuardia Airport, Felicia Reich said her flight to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is delayed by one hour.
“I was expecting it, but I was prepared,” she said, bundled up in a heavy coat and orange and yellow knit hat.
The delays come ahead of the busiest travel day of the holiday season, with 2.86 million travelers expected on Sunday, the Transportation Security Administration predicts.
Sarah Matthews told CNN she is visiting the US on a big trip from Australia.
“We were excited about the snow, because we’d never seen it,” Matthews said. “But for it to be snowing on our last day, and now we’re kind of delayed, that sucks a little bit. But we’ll make the most of it.”
At Newark airport, travelers bustled in front of a big Christmas tree.
“I want to get out of the snow and get back to Vegas,” John Hildebrandt told CNN affiliate WCBS. “Hopefully there won’t be a delay.”
Snow continued to fall across the New York City metro and northeastern New Jersey area through daybreak Saturday, but is starting to taper off elsewhere in the Northeast, according to the National Weather Service.
As ice weighed on trees and power lines in Michigan, more than 30,000 homes and businesses began Saturday without power, according to poweroutage.us.
New York City workers had prepared for days in anticipation of the snowstorm, salting the streets and readying plows.
Just over four inches of snow fell in New York City’s Central Park, the city’s most snow since January 2022, about half of the amount the National Weather Service predicted ahead of the storm.
Snow blowers hummed and snow shovels scraped sidewalks clear in Westchester County, New York, Saturday morning. Parts of the county saw as much as 6 inches of snow accumulate overnight.
The highest accumulation of snow fell in Connecticut, which got just over 8 inches, and more than 11 inches in Hartwick, New York.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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CNN’s Chris Warren, Maria Sole Campinoti, Yan Kaner, Taylor Romine, Meteorologist Chris Dolce and Andrew Freedman contributed to this report.
