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More than 1,000 United States flights were cancelled and more than 900 were delayed Wednesday (February 22) morning amid a massive winter storm projected to bring record snowfall in multiple regions of the country, NBC News reports.
The online flight tracker FlightAware reported a total of 1,044 cancellations within, into or out of the U.S., as well as 972 delays within, into or out of the U.S., as of 9:30 a.m. ET. The cancellations and delays came as winter storms hit the northern Plains which includes the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Winter storm, blizzard and high-wind advisories have been issued for parts of the western and North Central U.S. as forecasters predicted up to 2 feet of snow in some regions through Thursday (February 23), as well as possible "whiteout" conditions that could lead to hazardous driving, the National Weather Service announced early Wednesday morning.
Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport had the most cancellations of any airport with a total of 184, which accounted for 43% of its scheduled flights. Denver International Airport had 98 cancellations, which accounted for 11% of its scheduled flights.
A large arctic air mass moving south from Canada is reported to be "interacting with an energetic upper-level pattern and multiple frontal systems forecast to move through the country this week will bring numerous weather hazards," according to the National Weather Service via NBC News. A total of 1 to 2 feet of snow is expected for most mountain ranges across the western U.S., while the heaviest amounts of snowfall are projected across east-central Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin, according to the National Weather Service.
The storms are also expected to bring wind gusts reaching up to 50 MPH with wind chills dropping to negative 50 degrees Fahrenheit in the Dakotas and Minnesotas, according to the agency.