Mikey711MN From United States of America, joined Nov 2003, 1380 posts, RR: 8 Posted (3 years 5 months 4 days 13 hours ago) and read 2401 times:
With a large winter weather system approaching the upper midwest, with all indications showing the Twin Cities to get absolutely blasted near the holiday, I figured I'd start a thread to document travel advisory updates, flight cancellations/diversions, etc. that will surely impact thousands traveling by air for the holidays.
BMI727 From United States of America, joined Feb 2009, 14356 posts, RR: 26 Reply 2, posted (3 years 5 months 4 days 3 hours ago) and read 2281 times:
Quoting ETStar (Reply 1): This is just what I needed to hear. Yours truly is flying through ORD on Thursday.
They do have a watch, but the forecast for Peoria (100 miles south) is just rain turning into snow on Christmas, so a few degrees one way or the other could help or hurt you. Don't get worked up just yet. If I had a dollar for every storm that never hit...
Why do Aerospace Engineering students have to turn things in on time?
Mikey711MN From United States of America, joined Nov 2003, 1380 posts, RR: 8 Reply 3, posted (3 years 5 months 4 days 3 hours ago) and read 2246 times:
Quoting ETStar (Reply 1): This is just what I needed to hear. Yours truly is flying through ORD on Thursday.
Similar boat...I had my original itinerary to get home this Christmas flying through MSP on Thursday morning. I got it changed to DTW, but I still - somehow - need to make it to WI that day. Good luck to you!
Mir From United States of America, joined Jan 2004, 19719 posts, RR: 56 Reply 4, posted (3 years 5 months 4 days 2 hours ago) and read 2214 times:
Quoting Mikey711MN (Reply 3): Notably, this is not necessarily a particularly intense storm but rather a long lasting one.
I'm not sure that's any better, really - at least with the intense ones you can get the airports back to full capacity fairly quickly. But if it keeps coming down, and you have to keep closing runways to plow them....
-Mir
7 billion, one nation, imagination...it's a beautiful day
VC10DC10 From United States of America, joined Apr 2006, 960 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (3 years 5 months 3 days 18 hours ago) and read 2153 times:
Tomorrow night I'm supposed to be flying through ORD on my way to MSP. So far nothing appears cancelled, and AA is offering rescheduling only through the 24th (so that doesnt help me). Fingers crossed....
MKENut From United States of America, joined Jul 2007, 687 posts, RR: 1 Reply 6, posted (3 years 5 months 3 days 18 hours ago) and read 2132 times:
I look at the MKE forecast today and the winter storm watch has been downgraded to a winter weather advisory. My main concern is the ice accumulation that is suppose to happen tonight. I would rather have 2 feet of snow than ice!
ETStar From Canada, joined Jan 2004, 2103 posts, RR: 9 Reply 7, posted (3 years 5 months 3 days 17 hours ago) and read 2079 times:
Looks like ORD's wackiness has been downgraded to freezing rain today, then heavy showers tomorrow. A bit of a relief, but then again, I'm only a browser refresh away from it going the other way.
Mikey711MN From United States of America, joined Nov 2003, 1380 posts, RR: 8 Reply 8, posted (3 years 5 months 3 days 15 hours ago) and read 2030 times:
Luckily, MSP seems to be best equipped of the hubs to deal with these kinds of events. Obviously flights will be effected, but my experience has generally been that MSP is that airport that runs closest to normal with a major snow storm. Hopefully not too many travelers will have their trips significantly impacted!
Mikey711MN From United States of America, joined Nov 2003, 1380 posts, RR: 8 Reply 10, posted (3 years 5 months 3 days 13 hours ago) and read 1958 times:
Quoting Steex (Reply 9): Luckily, MSP seems to be best equipped of the hubs to deal with these kinds of events.
Agreed. It takes a special kind of storm to shut MSP completely down. There is an interesting article in the Star-Tribune (new window) about this very subject... (emphasis mine)
Quote: At Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, more than 100 pieces of snow-removal equipment are being prepped and nearly 100 employees have been "put on notice that we will call people in this evening when the snow starts occurring," said airport spokesman Pat Hogan. On-site bunk facilities are expected to be used to ensure that the workers won't be kept from reporting for duty, Hogan said.
Hogan is encouraging anyone trying to leave town to accelerate their departure, if possible, to avoid being snowed in at the airport.
"Our goal is to keep at least one runway open at all times," Hogan said. However, he said, scattered weather-related delays elsewhere are having a ripple effect and slowing operations down a touch at the Twin Cities airport.
The official forecast is calling for the snow to fall over three time periods, and Hogan said that scenario would "probably make it easier. ... If we can keep it to no more than a half an inch an hour, we can handle that."
Of greater concern than snow is freezing rain and ice, Hogan said. "We can plow snow, but we can't plow ice," which can making braking a problem for pilots.
Handling 1/2"/hr is pretty darn impressive!
That said, I personally didn't take any chances with MSP tomorrow morning, but I hope not to get stranded in DTW because MSN is iced over!
Trucker From United States of America, joined Nov 2009, 178 posts, RR: 1 Reply 11, posted (3 years 5 months 3 days 13 hours ago) and read 1948 times:
I live in central Wisconsin....about 30 miles south of CWA. Right now our local forecast is saying a wintery mix tomorrow and Friday but all rain by Friday evening. So based on that it looks like airports to the south like MKE and ORD will probably just see rain which although not good is much better then a foot of snow. MSP on the other hand is gonna get clobbered. So good luck to anyone going anywhere near there for the next couple days.
Mikey711MN From United States of America, joined Nov 2003, 1380 posts, RR: 8 Reply 12, posted (3 years 5 months 3 days 11 hours ago) and read 1862 times:
Acey559 From United States of America, joined Jan 2007, 1341 posts, RR: 2 Reply 13, posted (3 years 5 months 3 days 9 hours ago) and read 1803 times:
Here in the Quad Cities it's still just raining, although pretty heavily. Chicago usually gets our weather a few hours after it starts rolling through here. Hopefully it just keeps raining and doesn't get much colder so it all doesn't turn to ice. I just got back home from Dubuque, IA which is only about an hour north of here, and everything was covered with ice up there, so I'll keep my fingers crossed for all you holiday travelers.
Mikey711MN From United States of America, joined Nov 2003, 1380 posts, RR: 8 Reply 14, posted (3 years 5 months 3 days 9 hours ago) and read 1760 times:
USFlyer MSP From United States of America, joined May 2000, 1789 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (3 years 5 months 3 days 7 hours ago) and read 1704 times:
I am in MKE right now flying MSP-MKE-BNA. The flight from MKE-MSP was 1 hr 40 minutes late due to a broken APU and deicing. My MKE-BNA flight is currently delayed 2 hrs until 8:20PM due to MKE weather. Hopefully, I will get to BNA tonight!
NWADC10LUVER From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 16, posted (3 years 5 months 3 days 7 hours ago) and read 1669 times:
We the people of Michigan Wisconsin and Minnesota enact we will never shut down period. We know how to handle snow rain or whatever is thrown our way. We are hearty people and to mother nature we say BRING IT ON! However we may not like it but we deal with it.
FX1816 From United States of America, joined Mar 2004, 1400 posts, RR: 5 Reply 17, posted (3 years 5 months 3 days 5 hours ago) and read 1589 times:
Quoting NWADC10LUVER (Reply 16): We the people of Michigan Wisconsin and Minnesota enact we will never shut down period. We know how to handle snow rain or whatever is thrown our way. We are hearty people and to mother nature we say BRING IT ON! However we may not like it but we deal with it.
Good for you, then you can go and fly in extremely inclement weather.
VC10DC10 From United States of America, joined Apr 2006, 960 posts, RR: 0 Reply 19, posted (3 years 5 months 2 days 14 hours ago) and read 1439 times:
Any chance of an update for this thread from any MSPers? And if any of you MSPers are betting men or women, what odds would you give for getting in from ORD this evening?
Okie From United States of America, joined Jul 2003, 2378 posts, RR: 3 Reply 20, posted (3 years 5 months 2 days 13 hours ago) and read 1400 times:
Right now (2:00pm local) KOKC is getting 6+ inches of snow and 50+ gusts and is shut down because plows can not keep up. Better luck tomorrow I suspect.
BMI727 From United States of America, joined Feb 2009, 14356 posts, RR: 26 Reply 23, posted (3 years 5 months 1 day 23 hours ago) and read 1240 times:
Illinois has gotten off easy this time. Nothing but rain all day, but it is supposed to turn to snow this afternoon, and it didn't sound like Chicago was getting hit too bad either. It's gonna be a grey Christmas in central Illinois.
Why do Aerospace Engineering students have to turn things in on time?
BMI727 From United States of America, joined Feb 2009, 14356 posts, RR: 26 Reply 24, posted (3 years 5 months 1 day 12 hours ago) and read 1147 times:
All of the rain is now snow down here and it is starting to accumulate. We have a pretty stiff wind going now too, but this morning was nice, but rainy. This might cause problems for tomorrow.
Why do Aerospace Engineering students have to turn things in on time?
Mikey711MN From United States of America, joined Nov 2003, 1380 posts, RR: 8 Reply 25, posted (3 years 5 months 17 hours ago) and read 1042 times:
Anecdotally speaking, my original AUS-MSP-MSN itinerary on Thursday remained on schedule while my AUS-DTW-MSN rebooked itinerary (to avoid MSP during the peak of the storm) ended up running slightly behind schedule. We had a medical divert to IND en route to DTW, and NW held my connection.
For the amount of weather we're getting up here, I'm shocked impressed with seemingly how few impacts are being reported.
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