• Travel Alert February 2017: Winter Storm to Affect New England and Eastern Canada

Travel Alert February 2017: Winter Storm to Affect New England and Eastern Canada

by Brian Cohen

Snow

If New England and eastern Canada are in your travel plans over the next few days, you may want to consider delaying your travel — or, at least, keep yourself updated as to the latest information pertaining to the weather — as a significant portion of New England and eastern Canada are preparing to experience another disruption in less than a week due to more winter weather.

Travel Alert February 2017: Winter Storm to Affect New England and Eastern Canada

Major travel delays are expected starting later today, Sunday, February 12, 2017 due to the convergence of arctic air from the north and warmer moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to the south, which is expected to result in accumulations of snow of up to 12 inches from east of Syracuse and extreme northern Connecticut all the way to the maritime provinces of eastern Canada. Included in this swath of the significant accumulation of snow are Boston, Albany, Halifax, Montréal, Québec City and Saint John — and accumulations of up to two feet of snow are expected in most of the states of New Hampshire and Maine as well as parts of Vermont; and the provinces of extreme southeastern Québec, extreme southwestern New Brunswick and western Nova Scotia.

Sustained winds along the coast of New England are expected to exceed 50 miles per hour, which will create blizzard conditions and cause blowing and drifting snow. This can result in the loss of electricity due to downed power lines and the possibility of fallen trees.

The remainder of the northeastern United States and eastern Canada expecting snow — though with accumulations not as significant, from a dusting to six inches — include Hartford, Providence, Buffalo, Syracuse, Toronto, and other areas from extreme northeastern Ohio and northern Pennsylvania all the way to Newfoundland and Labrador. Expect slippery conditions on roadways.

South of the aforementioned areas are not quite “out of the woods”: a mix of wintry precipitation is expected for areas north of the city of New York — whereas heavy rains are expected in New Jersey and the remainder of Pennsylvania south to the District of Columbia.

Flight Waivers, Delays and Cancellations

If you are traveling to anywhere in New England or eastern Canada over the next few days, expect delays and cancellations of flights. Keep up to date on the latest information pertaining to this winter weather system which may adversely affect your travel plans. Better yet, postponing or canceling your trip might be a better option — no matter which mode of travel you plan on taking.

If you have a flight scheduled, your flight may be delayed or canceled — and you may be eligible for a waiver of a fee to change your itinerary. If you are driving in any of these areas, watch out for deteriorating weather conditions and traffic problems.

Here are nine airlines which have issued travel alerts as a result of this winter weather system:

Summary

Greater than 4,000 flights have already been canceled since this past Wednesday, February 8, 2017 as the result of a winter storm which blasted the northeastern United States and eastern Canada with significant accumulations of snow; and additional cancellations — as well as significant delays — of flights are certain with this new winter storm which will bring more snow.

As you can see, the aforementioned alerts widely vary by airline; so be sure to contact your airline or transportation provider for the latest information pertaining to your travels — if they are adversely affected — and please: travel safely.

Photograph ©2011 by Brian Cohen.

About The Author

Having traveled to greater than 50 countries on six continents and all 50 United States, Brian Cohen is a veteran frequent flyer who has been a member of frequent flyer communities for greater than 13 years; and has authored The Gate since August 2006.

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