While travelers in the Northeast U.S. continue to battle bone-chilling temperatures, travelers in the South are preparing for yet another winter storm that's expected to bring snow, ice and freezing rain to significant parts of the region on Wednesday.
In response, the governors of states like Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee have declared states of emergency, with officials encouraging travelers to avoid driving, exercise caution and plan ahead.
According to FlightAware.com, more than 1,000 total Wednesday flights within, into or out of the U.S. have been canceled as of 10 a.m. ET.
Unsurprisingly, a majority of those cancellations have come at southern airports.
Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson has canceled close to 500 total flights, which accounts for about one-fifth of its total flight volume for Wednesday. As arguably the world's busiest airport, widespread cancellations at Hartsfield-Jackson are sure to have a mighty impact on air travel nationwide.
Fortunately, the Weather Channel's latest forecast calls for much of the snow to fall north of Atlanta:
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport reported 221 cancellations as of this writing, while Charlotte Douglas International Airport stands at 171 canceled flights as of Wednesday morning.
Dallas Love Field (51 cancellations) and Raleigh-Durham International Airport (28 cancellations) are also experiencing cancellations as a result of wintry precipitation brought on by Winter Storm Remus.
"Snow or ice in the South is not uncommon during the winter, particularly in January and February. Many cities such as Dallas, Atlanta and Charlotte average about two days with measurable snow each winter," said Weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce.
"However, what makes Winter Storm Remus unique is the fact that it's the fourth winter storm since early last week to affect parts of the region with snow and ice. We had Octavia and Pandora last week, followed by Quantum at the beginning of this week."
But while several inches of heavy snow is undoubtedly crippling, it only takes a slight accumulation of ice or sleet to debilitate travel.
"You never get accustomed to an ice storm," said CNN meteorologist Chad Myers. "There's nothing you can do in an ice storm when it really rains on ground that's (below freezing). You can't drive on it, it's hard to walk, maneuvering is impossible."
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