A powerful winter storm sweeping the southeastern United States has caused more than 15,000 flight cancellations and thousands of delays as snow, ice and freezing temperatures disrupted air traffic, Anadolu reports.
Over 15,000 flights to or from the US have been canceled and more than 6,000 have been delayed, according to FlightAware.
As of Sunday, the highest number of cancellations was recorded at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas, with 828 flights canceled. It was followed by Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina with 751, John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York with 728, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey with 682 and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia with 680.
Several major airlines were also hit hard. American Airlines and Delta Air Lines led the cancellations, with more than 4,000 flights canceled together, while Southwest Airlines and United Airlines reported about 3,000 cancellations in total.
The flight disruptions came as a widespread storm system brought hail, freezing rain and heavy snow from the south to New England. The National Weather Service said the winter rains would continue through Monday in many areas, followed by extended periods of very low temperatures that could cause "hazardous impacts to travel and infrastructure."
More than 820,000 customers were left without power across the country, according to poweroutage.us.
President Donald Trump approved emergency declarations for at least a dozen states while federal emergency teams and supplies were pre-positioned in many states, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement on Sunday.
