Bourbon Street in New Orleans at night before the attack in New Orleans
A deadly winter storm stretching at least 1,500 miles (2,414 km) and is blanketing the South in snow from Texas to Florida has killed at least ten people. The storm is leaving record-breaking snowfall in a region largely unaccustomed to such cold winter weather.
A first-ever Blizzard Warning was issued for parts of the Gulf Coast, including southeast Texas and southern Louisiana.
Also in Louisiana, highway officials shut down an additional 100-mile (161-km) stretch of Interstate 10 because of deteriorating road conditions. Officials there had previously closed a 50-mile (80-km) stretch between Baton Rouge and Lafayette, and another 50 miles (80 km) in and around New Orleans since early Tuesday.
As of 8 a.m. ET Wednesday morning, parts of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi – paralleling the Interstate 10 corridor – had seen more than 7” (17.8 cm) of snow, while New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong International Airport reported 8″ (20.3 cm) of powder.
The storm has thus far resulted in tens of thousands of flight delays and cancellations, leaving innumerable travelers either stranded at their destinations or departure cities, or at airport terminals waiting for their flights.
On Tuesday, 2,346 flights within, into, or departing from the United States were cancelled, and an additional 4,462 flights were delayed, according to FlightAware, a service that tracks such information.
On Tuesday, George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston cancelled 96% of outbound flights and posted the greatest number of flight delays and cancellations in both the United States and globally, followed by Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International, William P. Hobby (Houston’s other airport), and Louis Armstrong International.
Meanwhile, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and Delta Air Lines experienced the greatest number of delays and cancellations.
Already as of 6:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday, there have been 1,852 flight cancellations and an additional 3,804 delays in the country. In addition, there have already been 425 flight cancellations listed for Thurseday.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
