US Braces For Winter Storm Fern: Thousands Of Flights Cancelled, Triggers Emergency Warnings

As the United States braces for Winter Storm Fern to bring bone-chilling temperatures, heavy snow, freezing rain, and extensive power outages across two dozen states, airlines have cancelled thousands of flights to ensure the safety of their customers and personnel.

According to data from flight-tracking service provider FlightAware, about 2,900 flights were delayed, and more than 500 were cancelled in the U.S. as of 3:45 p.m. EST on Friday. The cancellations spiked further on Saturday, with over 2,300 flights called off. Meanwhile, the cancellations for Sunday have also been rising, with 1,001 flights already cancelled by 3:00 p.m. ET Friday.

Several airports, such as Chicago O'Hare, Denver, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Dallas declared flight delays in the triple digits. Delta Air Lines reported flight cancellations at selected airports in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. The Atlanta, Georgia-based airline further issued a travel advisory, allowing passengers to change their bookings without fees at 45 airports in the Northeastern U.S. for travel between Saturday and Monday.

United Airlines also released a new travel alert for passengers flying in, out of, or through Chicago O'Hare on Friday or Saturday. Earlier, the company issued an alert for 35 airports in the Eastern U.S. for flights scheduled from Saturday to Monday, and another for 26 airports in the Southern U.S. for travel from Friday to Sunday.

Notably, American Airlines announced a second travel alert for 35 airports in the Northeast for customers flying from Saturday to Tuesday. Whereas, JetBlue Airways issued two travel alerts - the first one allowing free changes for passengers flying through six airports in the South and Mid-Atlantic region from Friday to Sunday, and the second alert was expanded to include 12 airports in the Mid-Atlantic region for travel from Saturday to Monday.

The travel disruptions come as the National Weather Service (NWS) is expecting a long-duration winter storm from the Southern Rockies to New England, lasting from Friday through Monday. Winter storm alerts have been issued across dozens of major cities including Dallas, Houston, Nashville, Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Boston. The agency also predicts the storm to dump heavy snow across a broad region from the Southern Rockies and Plains through the Mid-Atlantic and into the Northeast.

"In addition, widespread freezing rain and sleet are expected across the Southern Plains, the Lower Mississippi Valley, the Tennessee Valley, and the Southeast. The storm will cause significant to locally catastrophic ice accumulations with the potential for long-duration power outages, extensive tree damage, and extremely dangerous or impassable travel conditions," NWS posted on X.

Following the warning, Boston has declared a cold emergency through the weekend. Meanwhile, several classes at schools throughout the Midwest were cancelled due to freezing wind gusts blowing as low as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The federal government put nearly 30 search and rescue teams on standby in Oklahoma, and placed 600,000 blankets and 300 generators throughout the area