A major winter storm threatens to upend holiday travel

The timing couldn’t be worse: A powerful winter storm is expected to hit the nation’s heartland this week during one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season.

Why is it important? The storm is expected to interfere with both passenger travel and freight transportation

• The long-awaited family reunion may be off, but last-minute holiday gifts may not arrive this Christmas.

driving news; Widespread heavy snow and blizzard conditions are possible across the Midwest and Ohio Valley Thursday through Saturday (Christmas Eve).

• Details are uncertain, but heavy snow with strong and even damaging winds is becoming increasingly likely to cause poor visibility and power outages in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and several other states.
• The storm will be accompanied by dangerously cold air, with wind chills around -30°F in Chicago, for example, by Friday night. This storm will be part of a nationwide arctic outbreak.
• The National Weather Service is telling residents in Chicago, parts of Indiana and Ohio to reconsider travel Thursday through Friday night.

Location: They are keeping a close eye on the storm and may cancel flights in advance as the forecast becomes clearer.

• Delays at major airports like Denver, Chicago and Detroit can ripple across the country, affecting passengers everywhere.
• Freight hubs including Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Louisville and Memphis could also be affected.

In numbers: AAA estimates that nearly 113 million people plan to travel at least 50 miles away from home this holiday season — on par with pre-pandemic levels.

• Between December 23 and January 2, approximately 102 million Americans will drive to their holiday destinations.
• Air travel will increase by 14% despite higher ticket prices.
• Thursday and Friday will be the busiest days for air travel, with 3.34 million passengers scheduled to depart U.S. airports each day, according to travel app Hopper.

Be smart. If your plans are flexible, try rescheduling your flight or hitting the road early to avoid the storm’s worst impact Thursday and Friday.

• But act fast — once cancellations start rolling in, rebooking can be difficult, say experts at travel advisory website The Points Guy.
• “If there’s a flight booked for Thursday, you should try to take a flight on Tuesday or Wednesday,” managing editor Clint Henderson told Axios.
• Other tips: For quick rebooking, install your airline’s app on your phone and check options on other airlines.

Flash In the year In 2021, more than 14,000 flights were canceled over the holidays, a combination of Covid-related labor shortages and winter weather that reduced travel.

• It took weeks for airlines to recover, leaving some passengers stranded for several days.
• This year should have been better, Henderson says, because airlines have completed staffing and not had excessive demand on their flight schedules.

Yes, but: With fewer flights, planes are packed, making it difficult to rebook on another flight.

• “There’s not enough giving in the system,” Henderson says. “So if you get a big storm coming in, there’s very little extra capacity in the system to handle delays and cancellations.”