Winter Storm Slams, South, Northeast, Leaving 220,000 Homes Without Power and Thousands of Flight Delays Behind

A powerful winter storm passed through the South Sunday, dropping ice, snow, and sleet, and leaving over 220,000 homes and businesses without electrical power.

Many people trying to travel during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend were left stranded by road closures, highway accidents, and thousands of flight cancellations.

Drivers across the Southeast are being warned Monday to stay off the roads as temperatures at freezing or near freezing will keep roadway surfaces click, and many areas could experience severe icing conditions.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol reported over 400 highway accidents as of Sunday evening as well as two deaths.

Airlines cancelled over 3,000 flights on Sunday operating within or flying into or out of the United States. As of 11 a.m. Monday, an additional 1,483 flights had been cancelled, most due to the severe weather.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport was the worst hit.  Approximately 95% of all flights in and out of the aerodrome were cancelled Sunday and 33% had been cancelled as of late Monday morning.

“Airlines are reporting significant cancellations throughout the day,” the airport said in a statement on its website Sunday.

American Airlines, the largest carrier at the Charlotte airport, cancelled 23% of its total flying Sunday, some 674 flights, while 21%, or 608 flights, experienced delays.

Other airports reporting significant delays and cancellations including Hartsfield-Jackson International, Reagan National, Chicago O’Hare International, and Raleigh-Durham International.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)