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| Emergency workers help a woman from her vehicle after if slid off the road on Interstate 40 near Black Mountain, N.C. on Saturday. There were no injuries in the incident. Much of North Carolina was under a winter storm warning. |
While many Southerners welcomed a white Christmas on Saturday, the forecast for snow forced Delta Airlines to scrub 300 of its 800 flights at its home airport of Atlanta.
The snowfront was moving from the South up to the mid-Atlantic and then the Northeast. Winter weather advisories were in effect Saturday from Arkansas to the Carolinas and from West Virginia to central Alabama. Much of North Carolina was under a winter storm warning.
The system was expected to intensify and move northeast on Sunday.
Brian Korty at the National Weather Service said travelers in the northern Mid-Atlantic region and New England may want to rethink Sunday travel plans.
"They may see nearly impossible conditions to travel in," he said. "It would be a lot better for them to travel today than it would be tomorrow."
The Weather Channel provided these snow forecasts:
- Atlanta, Ga.: 1-3 inches on Saturday, with the heaviest amounts north of the city. Some 3-6 inches expected in north Georgia mountains.
- Charlotte, N..: 3-6 inches on Saturday through Sunday.
- Raleigh, N.C.: 5-9 inches Saturday night and Sunday.
- Norfolk, Va.: 6-10 inches Saturday night through Sunday night.
- Washington, D.C.: 2-5 inches on Sunday.
- Philadelphia, Pa.: 5-10 inches on Sunday.
- New York, N.Y.: 10-15 inches on late Sunday through Monday. Significant blowing and drifting snow with north winds of 20-30 mph and gusts over 40 mph.
- Boston, Mass.: 12-18 inches on Sunday night though Monday evening. Some sleet or freezing rain possible as well. Significant blowing and drifting snow with north winds 25-40 mph and gusts over 50 mph.
500 flight cancellations planned
The weather did not cause big problems for the airlines Friday, but Delta Air Lines spokesman Morgan Durrant said 500 weather-related flight cancellations were planned for Saturday nationwide.
That included 300 of the 800 scheduled departures from the Atlanta hub. Durrant said those affected had been notified.
He recommended that passengers not travel by air in the Southeast on Christmas if they can help it.
"Atlanta will see more cancellations (Saturday) than on Sunday," he said. The Mid-Atlantic region could see cancellations Sunday.
AirTran spokeswoman Judy Graham-Weaver said the carrier had canceled seven Saturday flights and that afternoon flights from Atlanta would be delayed because of required de-icing of planes.
Both airlines encouraged passengers to monitor their websites, and both offered to waive ticket-change fees for some flights scheduled for this weekend in the South and Mid-Atlantic.
Only a few hundred people milled about the cavernous terminals at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Saturday, many of them recent arrivals from international flights. Fliers were notified Friday when flights were pre-emptively canceled, so most passengers didn't bother to show up. Many chairs were empty, restaurants even emptier.
The arrival and departure boards for flights were awash with red "canceled" signs.
Some couldn't help but chuckle that the flights were nixed long before the first raindrop or snowflake had fallen. Snow didn't begin falling in Atlanta until Saturday afternoon.
"They canceled hundreds of flights and there hasn't even been a drop of rain," said Stephanie Palmer, who was killing time with her friend Ibrahima Soumano as he awaited a flight to Mali. "This doesn't make sense."
Travelers could also see airport screeners taking a closer look at empty insulated beverage containers like thermoses because air carriers were alerted about a potential terror tactic involving them, an administration official said.
Nashville, Louisville see snow
In southern states, many were waiting to see whether they would enjoy a rare white Christmas.
The Nashville area had an inch or so of snow overnight, and roads appeared to be clear.
By late Saturday morning, 4 to 5 inches of snow had fallen over several hours in Bowling Green, Ky.
Louisville — which last had snow on Christmas in 2002, when a half-inch fell — had about an inch Saturday morning.
In parts of Tennessee, Georgia and the Carolinas, the snow was likely to be mixed with sleet and rain before turning entirely to snow.
Temperatures in Georgia are expected to dip into the 20s on Christmas night, possibly leading to slick road conditions.
"If roads aren't able to dry up during the day, that's what will freeze up Saturday night into Sunday morning," said the weather service's Vaughn Smith in Atlanta.
Atlanta could also see 1-3 inches of snow. The last time that happened there on Christmas Day was in 1881, when 1.6 inches of snow fell on the city.
Lon Anderson, a spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said people traveling by car on the East Coast over the holidays should check the weather forecasts.
"The fact is Mother Nature is going to be a big factor" in holiday travel, he said. "She's calling the shots this holiday season and in many places it will be very tough going." He said motorists should make sure their car is ready, especially their tires, and that they have enough windshield wiper fluid.
"It doesn't take much in the Mid-Atlantic area to cause mayhem," Anderson said.
The Air Transport Association was expecting 44.3 million people on U.S. flights between Dec. 16 and Jan. 5 — up 3 percent over the same period a year ago but still below pre-recession travel volume. The average ticket price was $421, up by 5 percent.
The AAA predicted overall holiday travel to rise about 3 percent this year, with more than 92 million people planning to go more than 50 miles by Jan. 2. More than 90 percent said they would be driving.
Said Anderson of the storm: "The timing is really bad."
Weather.com: Get the latest Christmas forecasts
'Sliding around' in Midwest
On Friday, the system blanketed parts of the Midwest, hampering motorists there on Christmas Eve, and more snow was falling there on Saturday.
In Minnesota, the storm brought 6 inches of snow Friday to Minneapolis and St. Paul. It pushed the monthly total there to 33.4 inches, topping the previous December record set in 1969.
The snow made traveling tough Friday in northeastern Iowa, where the bulk of the storm hovered. Cedar Rapids received more than 7 inches of snow.
Scott and Lori Whiting left Chicago for Colorado Springs, Colo., with their nine children Thursday evening.
By morning, they had only reached Des Moines, a trip that normally takes about four hours, Lori Whiting said.
"The cars are really sliding around up there," Lori Whiting said. "It's kind of slushy. Some parts it's packed, and you don't think it's going to be slick and all of a sudden your car is fishtailing."
Scott Whiting got into a fender bender at a Des Moines truck stop. Still, the family was in good spirits and the children were singing carols.
Lori Whiting said they were hoping to make it to Colorado Springs for Christmas Eve.
"Depending on the number of potty breaks, you understand," she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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