The polar vortex isn’t going anywhere.
The extreme weather that grounded more than 1,300 flights, closed schools, and caused a state of emergency in Wisconsin on Monday is set to continue into Tuesday, and possibly linger throughout the week. And the frigid temperatures won’t just stay in the Midwest: Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is set to be hardest hit by cancellations Tuesday.
As of Monday night, nearly 300 Tuesday flights to and from Atlanta had been cancelled as the city prepares to host the Super Bowl this weekend. (The city’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the NFL championship game will be played on Sunday, has a retractable roof so the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams will likely face off in climate-controlled conditions regardless of the weather.) Snow and ice are causing disruptions across the South, with some schools in Louisiana closing on Tuesday and a state of emergency declared by Alabama’s governor.
That’s not to say the Midwest will get any respite. More than 280 Tuesday flights to and from Chicago Midway have been cancelled as well as more than 150 to and from Chicago O’Hare, according to FlightAware.
Across the U.S., nearly 1,000 flights have been cancelled. Southwest has cancelled the most flights, at 535. That’s 14% of all Southwest flights scheduled for Tuesday, according to FlightAware. Delta, which uses Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as its hub, has cancelled 125 flights.
Tuesday may not mark the end of the winter woes: the weather service has issued a cold weather warning for several Midwestern states that lasts through Thursday.