Heavy Snow and Flight Cancellations: A Challenging Time for Holiday Travelers

A massive winter storm is causing serious problems for people trying to get home after Thanksgiving. Snow is piling up quickly in the Midwest and Great Lakes areas. The National Weather Service (NWS) warns that this storm is bringing heavy snow and dangerous travel conditions. In some places, snow is falling at a rate of more than 1 inch per hour. This means roads are covered in snow, and strong winds are making it hard to see. The NWS expects 6 to 12 inches of snow in some areas. This is making driving very risky. Air travel is also affected. Over 800 flights at Chicago O'Hare International Airport were canceled on Saturday. More than 500 flights were delayed. This is a big deal because nearly 82 million people were expected to travel for the holiday, with 6 million of them flying. Car accidents related to the storm have been reported. The Missouri State Highway Patrol is investigating at least nine crashes in the central part of the state. Officials are advising people to stay off the roads if they can. While the northern and central U. S. deal with snow and ice, parts of Texas and Louisiana might see heavy rain and flooding. Another storm is expected to hit the East Coast on Tuesday. This new storm will bring heavy snow to the northern mid-Atlantic and New England areas. It will also bring heavy rain to the Southeast. Travel conditions are expected to worsen on Tuesday. A meteorologist from the NWS, Andrew Orrison, said that Monday is the best day to travel home from the holiday. He warned that Tuesday will have more widespread rain and snow, making travel more difficult. Adding to the travel troubles, there are also flight delays caused by mandatory software upgrades for Airbus A320 aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an emergency directive requiring airlines to upgrade the software before the planes can fly again. Several airlines, including American and United, have started upgrading the software to minimize delays.