Over 8,000 flights cancelled as major winter storm bears down across US

"More than a dozen states sound the alarm, declaring emergencies or urging people to stay home. More than 8,000 flights set to take off over the weekend have been cancelled as a major storm bears down across the United States, threatening widespread heavy snow and a band of catastrophic ice stretching from east Texas to North Carolina. At least 3,400 flights were delayed or cancelled on Saturday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware, and more than 5,000 were called off for Sunday."

"Roughly 140 million people from New Mexico to New England were under a winter storm warning, as forecasters say damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival that of a hurricane. Snow fell over parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas on Friday ahead of a winter storm expected to converge with bitter Arctic cold and engulf much of the US over the weekend. This is a mean storm, Jacob Asherman, a meteorologist at the US Weather Prediction Center in Maryland, told Reuters news agency."

More than 8,000 weekend flights were cancelled and thousands more delayed as a major winter storm threatens widespread heavy snow and a catastrophic band of ice from east Texas to North Carolina. Roughly 140 million people from New Mexico to New England were under winter storm warnings. Snow fell in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas ahead of Arctic cold that will engulf much of the United States. Wind-chill readings plunged below −45°C in parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota, posing rapid hypothermia risk. Ice up to an inch threatened trees, power lines, roads, and prolonged outages in several southern states, prompting emergency declarations and stay-home advisories.

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