Winter storm cancels thousands of flights off the east coast of the United States, Canada

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (Reuters) – A major winter storm hit the eastern United States on Sunday with snow, ice and strong winds, causing widespread travel disruptions and power outages over the holiday weekend.

Winter weather warnings extended more than 1,000 miles (1,609 km) from Alabama to Maine, with governors of Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina declaring emergencies due to the storm.

The website PowerOutage.US monitors power outages as more than 200,000 homes and businesses in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia have reported power outages.

In North Carolina, recorded snowfall was seen in some areas, killing two people who lost control of their car in Raleigh on Sunday.

Heavy snowfall is expected across the backwaters of the Appalachians and large lakes below.

The storm made its way to New England across the Mid-Atlantic region on Sunday night, bringing snow, which is expected to turn into snow, ice and eventually rain, the National Weather Service said.

In Canada, the storm is forecast to have 20-40cm (8-16 inches) of snowfall from Monday morning until Monday morning in parts of southern and eastern Ontario in the Canadian province that shares part of its border with the state of New York. , Environment Canada, said.

Due to the Omicron corona virus variant, bad weather hit when Ontario schools reopened for live classes on Monday after the winter holidays were extended.

According to FlightAware data, 3,000 flights were canceled inside or outside the United States on Sunday, and 8,000 flights were delayed.

American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL.O)More than 660 flights were canceled. More than 90% of flights to Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, the center of American Airlines, were canceled. FlightAware website Showed.

American Airlines has said it will allow customers affected by the weather to reschedule flights free of charge.

15 to 20 cm of snow accumulates in Toronto, the busiest airport in Canada.

Since Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday, it’s a long weekend for most people in the United States.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said Sunday that people should avoid unnecessary trips to areas affected by the storm.

“Stay home and stay out of the roads if you can tonight and tomorrow morning,” Kemp said on Twitter. “It will be treacherous in many parts of our state.”

Report by John Wolf in Washington and Kanishka Singh in Bangalore; Additional Reporting by Steve Gorman and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Lisa Schumacher, Kieran Murray and Karisma Singh

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