
by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:45 AM ET, Fri December 21, 2018
Update: December 21, 2018 at 10:20 a.m. ET
As storms carrying rain and wind move into the northeast, FlightAware.com is reporting over 210 flights were canceled and more than 1,500 flights were delayed in the United States as of 10:15 a.m. ET.
Boston, New York City and Philadelphia have been most impacted, including over 200 delayed flights as of Friday morning at LaGuardia Airport and New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport.
Both United Airlines and JetBlue have started waiving change fees at LaGuardia, Newark Liberty, John F. Kennedy International and Westchester County Airport, with JetBlue also waiving fees for travelers impacted at New York Stewart International Airport.
Other airlines serving the region are monitoring the situation before issuing travel advisories.
Update: December 21 at 7:30 a.m. ET
The storms impacting Florida Thursday and Friday have also caused at least two cruise ships to modify their itineraries, according to Cruise Critic.
Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas and Brilliance of the Seas will replace their Saturday calls at Cozumel with stops in Labadee, Haiti, and Freeport, Bahamas, respectively.
Other cruise lines in the area with ships scheduled to depart Friday include Carnival Cruise Line and Silversea Cruises, but officials for those companies have not announced any changes as of Friday morning.
Update: December 21 at 6:30 a.m. ET
The storm systems dumping rain along the east and west coasts Thursday and Friday resulted in only 231 flight cancellations Thursday night, but over 7,000 flights in the United States had been delayed due to the rain, strong winds and poor visibility, according to FlightAware.com.
The delays and cancellations are expected to carry over into Friday, which is expected to be the busiest day of the holiday travel period at airports across the country, according to a report from AAA.
The major U.S. carriers have not issued travel advisories, but passengers are being asked to arrive earlier than usual, as the number of holiday travelers is expected to cause security delays at airports across the country.
Officials from American airports are also asking travelers to call their airlines before leaving the house in order to ensure their flight is not delayed or canceled.
For those hitting the road during the busy holiday travel period, wet and windy weather is expected on both the east and west coasts of the United States.
According to Accuweather.com, the West Coast will experience heavy rain, heavy mountain snow and wind gusts reaching 60 miles per hour from Northern California to Washington through Christmas Day.
The storms will continue to impact travel in the Northwest throughout the weekend.
As for the travelers driving or flying along the East Coast in the coming days, the National Weather Service revealed heavy rain coming from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean is expected to dumped on the Southeast and the Appalachians.
As the storm progresses north, as much as three inches of rain could be measured in areas from Florida peninsula to eastern North Carolina to southern New England. Travel hubs in Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Washington, D.C. could all see up to four inches of rain Thursday night through Friday.
The storms on both coasts could impact the estimated 112.5 million Americans who are expected to take to the roads, skies and rails during the year-end holidays., according to AAA.
Airlines across the U.S. are on notice for any potential weather impact that could cause flight delays or cancellations, but no major carrier has issued any travel advisories as of Thursday afternoon.
Cruise lines are also on notice, but no itineraries have been altered as a result of the storms.
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