Winter Storm Petra to Impact Travel, Disrupt Thousands of Flights

Update: February 21, 2019 at 8:40 a.m. ET

Passengers flying into and out of major airports in the Midwest and Northeast continue to deal with flight delays and cancellations Thursday morning in the aftermath of Winter Storm Petra.

According to FlightAware.com, more than 450 flights within, into or out of the U.S. have been canceled and another 830 have been delayed as of 8:35 a.m. ET Thursday. However, more than 100 of those cancellations have come at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport, where a new winter storm system brought measurable snowfall for the first time in over a decade.

Air travelers are encouraged to check their flight status with their airline prior to arriving at the airport.

Update: February 20, 2019 at 4:40 p.m. ET

More than 100 flights within, into or out of the U.S. have already been canceled for Thursday as Winter Storm Petra continues to bring snow and ice to parts of the Midwest and Northeast.

According to flight-tracking website FlightAware.com, more than 2,230 flights within, into or out of the U.S. have been canceled Wednesday, while another 5,100 have experienced delays as of 4:30 p.m. ET. Most of the headaches are being felt at airports along the I-95 corridor, including places like Baltimore, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Major Midwest cities such as Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis have also experienced travel delays as a result of Petra.

The deicing process is essential to travel on winter weather days. Here's a look at @SpiritAirlines and @Delta in the final stages of preparation for takeoff. Note the different fluids. One essentially cleans the plane, the other serves as an anti-icing fluid. #MDOTsafety #MDwx pic.twitter.com/tVNHl0Cqou

— BWI Marshall Airport (@BWI_Airport) February 20, 2019

This is what it looks like as brooms and plows push the snow (from right to left) off our runways and taxiways. A snow blower then completes the clearing process by hurling the snow high and far. #MDOTsafety #MDwx #SceneAtBWI pic.twitter.com/8P2J23WcZt

— BWI Marshall Airport (@BWI_Airport) February 20, 2019

As if travelers didn't have enough to deal with, Winter Storm Quiana is already on its way and expected to disrupt travel with more snow, ice and even blizzard conditions in places from the Plains to New England later this week and into the weekend.

FYI heads up for differences but still dangerous conditions with both #WinterStormPetra & #WinterStormQuiana pic.twitter.com/4jKzfkcd2u

— Liana Brackett (@LianaBrackett) February 20, 2019

Update: February 20, 2019 at 12:30 p.m. ET

As Winter Storm Petra continues to blanket the east coast with snow, travelers are being stranded at airports across the country due to flight delays and cancellations continuing to soar.

According to FlightAware.com, over 1,970 flights within, into or out of the U.S. were canceled through Wednesday afternoon and another 2,940-plus flights were delayed. Cities with the most impacted flights include Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, New York City and Boston.

For rail travelers, Amtrak announced it would operate a modified Keystone Service schedule on Wednesday as a result of the impending winter weather.

Almost 44% of the US Population under some type of Winter Weather Alert. We'll detail where the biggest impacts will be throughout the day, along with our crews (@JimCantore, @ReynoldsWolf, @TevinWooten & @mikeseidel) in the field! pic.twitter.com/vH1qVwBh2F

— Alex Wallace (@TWCAlexWallace) February 20, 2019

The snow from #Petra is waning in Central Pennsylvania. From my unofficial measuring on a flat surface that was snow-free this morning, it looks like just shy of 5.5” has fallen so far today. @weatherchannel is live covering #WinterStormPetra. pic.twitter.com/Lhscg3PRJL

— Justin Michaels (@JMichaelsNews) February 20, 2019

3" of #snow so far in Rock Creek Park in NW #WashingtonDC as temps hover at 31°. Through this afternoon and evening a slow warm up south to north with snow changing to freezing rain/sleet to rain before ending tonight.
High tomorrow 57°.#Petra#DCWX pic.twitter.com/jpQmBT5lIe

— Mike Seidel (@mikeseidel) February 20, 2019

Update: February 20, 2019 at 6:25 a.m. ET

As Winter Storm Petra moves into the Mid-Atlantic region early Wednesday, Weather.com forecasters believe the snow and ice associated with the weather system will cause slow morning commutes in the Washington D.C. and Baltimore metro areas.

The storm will spread further into the Northeast throughout Wednesday.

There are numerous winter weather alerts associated with #Petra in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic pic.twitter.com/TYNyWmkIkG

— Your Weather Today (@YourWxDaily) February 20, 2019

Winter Storm #Petra will bring snow or ice to at least 30 states this week pic.twitter.com/43QqRLKLRY

— Your Weather Today (@YourWxDaily) February 20, 2019

As for the impact of Winter Storm Petra on the airline industry, FlightAware.com is reporting over 1,150 flights within, into or out of the U.S. were already canceled Wednesday morning and another 180-plus flights were delayed.

Officials in impacted areas and regions expecting snow accumulation continue to ask travelers to contact their airlines to check on the status of their flight before heading to the airport.

Travelers scheduled to fly to the Mid-Atlantic and East Coast on the United States this week could be dealing with a mix of snow and ice as Winter Storm Petra begins to impact travel.

According to Weather.com, the storm system started dumping snow on New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Missouri and Iowa Tuesday as it continued to move toward the Northeast.

On Wednesday, Winter Storm Petra will bring snow across the upper Midwest before hitting Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington D.C., possibly leaving the impacted regions under several inches of snow.

Then there's Winter Storm #Petra. Snow and ice from the Plains to the east coast. pic.twitter.com/xtnJnEPvmw

— Mike Bettes (@mikebettes) February 19, 2019

Then it's onto the northeast! Snow, ice, rain, wind. #dcwx #nywx #mewx pic.twitter.com/vLJYbzVLcb

— Mike Bettes (@mikebettes) February 19, 2019

The weather system will then move up the East coast Wednesday night toward New England where Boston and other metropolitan areas are preparing for a small accumulation.

As a result of the forecasted storm and its impact on critical destinations in the U.S., airlines have started issuing travel advisories and waiving change fees, as FlightAware.com is reporting at 4:30 p.m. ET that over 350 flights have already been canceled for Wednesday.

Cities most impacted by the cancellations include Baltimore, Chicago, St. Louis, Washington D.C. and more.

American Airlines and Delta Air Lines have issued travel advisories for 11 impacted airports Wednesday, while United Airlines has waived change fees for passengers scheduled to fly to or from over 50 affected airports in the Great Plains, Mid Atlantic, Great Lakes and Northeast.

Other carriers such as Southwest and JetBlue have also started issuing travel advisories. All passengers are being asked to call their airlines to ensure their flights aren’t impacted before heading to the airport over the next several days.