Holiday Storm: White-Out Conditions and Subzero Temperatures Upend Holiday Plans (Published 2022) (2024)

Pinned

Winter storm raises fears and scrambles plans as it moves south.

There, it delivered subfreezing, and even subzero, temperatures in places where many residents have painful memories of the devastation wrought by Winter Storm Uri in February 2021.

“We’ve had folks that have come into the shelter after double amputations as a result of Winter Storm Uri,” said Daniel Roby, the chief executive of Austin Street Center, a shelter in Dallas. “Typically in Texas, we didn’t have that kind of weather. The past couple of years, we’ve had really bad storms, so we’re learning from that experience. We know now we need to do more than we’ve ever done before.”

Forecasters said that the storm’s fury came from its scope, which covered most of the eastern half of the country, from the Canadian border to the Gulf Coast, under a mass of Arctic air that brought even colder wind chills. More than 150 million people are under warnings or advisories of wind chill temperatures that could dip to 40 degrees below zero in the Intermountain West and into the Plains. In some places it could plummet as low as 70 degrees below zero, which can cause frostbite in minutes.

The Arctic blast is not unusual, but this year it has combined with a “bomb cyclone” — a rapidly intensifying storm — to bring about these extreme wind chills.

Individually, the winds, snow and subzero temperatures are not all that troubling, forecasters said, but they have coalesced into something ferocious. “What makes this storm unusual is the combination,” said Brett Borchardt, a meteorologist from the Chicago office of the National Weather Service.

The frigid temperatures create fluffier snow, which combined with 45- to 55-mile-per-hour wind gusts can make for white-out conditions and perilous travel.

At least three people in Kansas and two in Oklahoma were killed in crashes that appeared to be related to the storm, officials said. High winds and blizzard-like conditions led to the closure of a 200-mile stretch of Interstate 90, which crosses much of the northern tier of the United States.

The disruptions have rippled across the country. Roughly 16,000 flights had been canceled or delayed as of Thursday night, stranding travelers across the country.

One of them was Melissa Smuzynski, who had been stranded with her husband and daughter at the Denver airport for 17 hours.

“We were hoping to beat the Arctic blast home” from Montana to Oklahoma, she said. Instead, she and her family became stuck on a connection through Denver, which has endured a series of cold-weather calamities. Icy roads have deterred fight crews. Plane parts have frozen solid.

Ms. Smuzynski had little choice but wait.

“You sit there with your fingers crossed every time you see the gate agent pick up the phone to get on the intercom,” she said. “You just hope it’s good news, and not another delay. But you know, they can’t control it. We can’t control it. So we just try to stay positive.”

President Biden urged Americans on Thursday to heed local warnings about a storm he said would unleash “dangerous and threatening” conditions in much of the country.

“It’s not like a snow day, you know, when you’re a kid,” Mr. Biden said in brief remarks from the White House. “This is serious stuff. And my team is prepared to help communities weather this, no pun intended.”

In places where blustering winds and blankets of snow are expected, some said the storm was indeed serious but something they could take in stride.

“It’s winter time in Chicago, so we expect these things,” said Richard Guidice, Chicago’s executive director for emergency management and communications.

He added: “I do think this has the potential to be significant and something that we need to pay close attention to, which we are doing.”

In Westwood, Kan., a suburb of Kansas City, where it was 4 degrees below zero, tiny icicles had formed on Bill Mendence’s eyebrows, eyelashes and mustache as he took a walk. But he said he was feeling good.

“I mean, I’ve lived through plenty of snowstorms and you can only control what you can control,” Mr. Mendence, 37, said. “We’ve got food, we’ve got warmth, and if something changes with that, then we’ll make a decision on what to do.”

Across the storm’s footprint, there was special concern for people who did not have ready access to food and warmth.

“It’s dangerous,” said Patrick Feistel, executive director of the Garden City Rescue Mission in Augusta, Ga., which offers overnight beds for men and was opening earlier and creating space for more people because of the frigid weather. “On a regular night, it might not be the difference between life and death. But it is now.”

Across much of the South, people were bracing for an unfamiliar and unsettling level of cold. In the Nashville area, temperatures were expected to fall below zero.

“It’s a madhouse in Tennessee right now, because everybody’s at the grocery store, getting their last minute shopping done,” said Regina Gammon, the owner of Hendersonville Produce, a natural foods market in a Nashville suburb. “We’re not used to seeing zero,” she added, referring to the dangerously low temperatures expected. “I’ve lived in Tennessee all my life, and zero is very uncommon.”

The plummeting temperatures reached Texas, where temperatures were falling into the teens on Thursday evening and the wind chill was expected to be well below zero in places.

The conditions have stirred up worries stemming from the storm last year that covered the state in ice and pushed the power grid to near collapse, leaving millions stranded without electricity in subfreezing temperatures and leading to more than 240 deaths.

Hunter Reeves, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Dallas, said the two storms were indeed very different. “It got a lot colder back then,” he said, and that storm brought ice and snow and kept temperatures below freezing for a week. The temperature should be above freezing by Christmas Day, Mr. Reeves said, and into the 50s by the first part of next week. “This is a quick turnaround,” he said.

Still, those fears remained.

“Oh, yeah, almost kind of like PTSD,” said Tumaini Criss, 32, who lives in Dallas, after she lost nearly everything she had last year when frozen pipes burst in her apartment.

“This time, of course, we took all the precautionary measures,” she said, including letting the faucets drip and opening cabinets to let warm air in around the pipes. She also checked to make sure her insurance was up-to-date. “We’re prepared if something does happen.”

Reporting was contributed by Robert Chiarito from Chicago, Jacey Fortin from North Augusta, S.C., Lauren Fox from Kansas City, Mo., Ann Hinga Klein from Des Moines and Michael Levenson from New York.

Advertisem*nt

SKIP ADVERTIsem*nT

The Kurens family drove in a day earlier than planned in order to beat the winter storm and catch the game. When they left Denver on Wednesday, it was about 55 degrees, said Eric Kurens, 50. When they arrived in Olathe, Kan., where they are staying, the temperature back home had dropped to 0.

Advertisem*nt

SKIP ADVERTIsem*nT

Outreach intensifies to find shelter for homeless people caught in the path of the storm.

And in Augusta, Ga., a church mission was planning to open its shelter’s doors early and preparing to pack in people, even spreading mats on the floors. “On a regular night, it might not be the difference between life and death,” said Patrick Feistel, the executive director of the Garden City Rescue Mission, which offers overnight beds for homeless men. “But it is now.”

Across much of the country, temperatures and wind chills far lower than normal are endangering even people used to sleeping in the cold, and leaving officials scrambling to find people and convince them to come inside, exposing the patchwork nature of many cities’ outreach efforts.

Four people died on the streets of Salt Lake City in the four-day stretch ending on Monday, in temperatures as low as 12 degrees. The cold was reaching even into snowbird havens. In Miami, temperatures were forecast to drop below 50, prompting the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust to activate its Cold Weather Emergency Plan.

As of January, there were about 230,000 people living unsheltered in the United States, according to an annual estimate coordinated by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, a slight increase compared with a count from early 2020, before the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

For Texas, the brutal winter storm of February 2021, during which hundreds of people died and millions were left without power for days, was a powerful demonstration of the need for better preparation, according to Daniel Roby, the chief executive of Austin Street Center, a shelter in Dallas. When the center opened a new facility this summer, he ensured that it was equipped with a massive generator.

“We’ve had folks that have come into the shelter after double amputations as a result of Winter Storm Uri,” Mr. Roby said, referring to last year’s storm. “Typically in Texas, we didn’t have that kind of weather. The past couple of years, we’ve had really bad storms, so we’re learning from that experience. We know now we need to do more than we’ve ever done before.”

A recent count indicated that Dallas had about 1,500 unsheltered residents, Mr. Roby said, though he noted that the number had most likely increased because of rising rents in the area. Through the Austin Street Center’s facilities, local churches and other sites around the city, more than 600 beds would be made available for people seeking shelter during the freeze, he said, with additional capacity available as needed.

“Because we weren’t anticipating snow, and snow is starting to fall, we’re gearing up for a busy night,” Mr. Roby said.

Josh Henges, the homeless prevention coordinator for Kansas City, Mo., was at Hope Faith, an emergency overnight shelter, on Thursday afternoon, as the temperature dropped below 0 degrees, with the possibility of the windchill reaching minus 40 degrees. He said about 214 people had come to the shelter as of 3:20 p.m. on Thursday. He added that among the most vulnerable were those suffering from severe mental illness or substance use disorder and that he had seen some people who weren’t wearing coats and one man who would most likely lose his nose from exposure. “They are not really concerned about the cold until it’s too late,” he said.

At the downtown branch of the Des Moines Public Library, a handful of people were slumped in chairs in a lobby and in a public room on Thursday afternoon, where three flat-screen TVs played the movie “Elf.”

Deirdre Henriquez, the outreach and advocacy director for Central Iowa Shelter & Services, walked from person to person. She was traveling around with two colleagues to the city’s various warming centers, as well as to makeshift camps along the city’s two rivers to offer dry clothing, medical care and transportation to a shelter. But not everyone who appeared to be in need was willing to accept the assistance. “There are many campers out there that think they might be able to withstand this weather, but this weather is just overwhelming,” she said.

In the library’s lobby, a man in a long coat and sweatpants held a loaf of bread wrapped in Jimmy John’s tissue paper. “Are you coming into the shelter?” Ms. Henriquez asked him. “I can drive you there right now.”

“Nope,” he replied, saying that he thought he would be handed over to the police for crimes he had not committed.

“Nobody’s going to call the cops on you,” she said. “It’s too cold out there. Will you think about it?”

Advertisem*nt

SKIP ADVERTIsem*nT

With roughly 10,000 flights affected by weather, travelers adjust or abandon their holiday plans.

“So we sat in the driveway, had a little moment, called the family, and then we said, ‘Let’s put the dog back in the house and grab some breakfast,’” Mr. Hawley said.

Theirs was but one anecdote of travelers encountering obstacles on a day when a cold blast set in across much of the United States, bringing rain, snow, blistering wind and subzero temperatures that created hazardous conditions.

By Thursday afternoon, roughly 10,000 flights across the country, as well as international flights into or out of the United States, had been delayed or canceled, according to FlightAware, a flight-tracking platform. The Federal Aviation Administration handles about 45,000 flights on an average day.

On Wednesday, more than 8,300 flights were delayed and 595 were canceled, meaning the disruptions affected more than 20 percent of air travel before the peak of the storm.

From January 2022 through September 2022, the period for which the most recent official data is available, more than 20 percent of flights were delayed and 2.76 percent were canceled, according to the Transportation Department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Even with their flight rescheduled for Friday, Ms. Schotl, 31, and Mr. Hawley, 34, were feeling positive as they pondered their new plan for the day at the Front Range Coffeehouse and Provisions in Fairway, Kan. They were going to watch a movie in their basem*nt.

But the latest weather disruptions came at an inopportune time for people crisscrossing the country before the start of a busy holiday weekend.

On Thursday afternoon, Melissa Smuzynski had entered her 17th hour of airline delays, as her family endured a series of cold-weather calamities. Icy roads had deterred flight crews. Plane parts had frozen solid.

“We were hoping to beat the Arctic blast” getting home from Montana to Oklahoma, she said. Instead, she and her family got stuck on a connection through Denver.

So Ms. Smuzynski, a public relations professional who was traveling with her husband and her daughter, had little choice but to bide her time, watching snow blanket the tarmac outside and passengers nap on the floor inside.

“You sit there with your fingers crossed every time you see the gate agent pick up the phone to get on the intercom,” she said. “You just hope it’s good news, and not another delay. But you know, they can’t control it. We can’t control it. So we just try to stay positive.”

Paul Caputo had just pulled up to the Denver International Airport on Thursday for a 6 a.m. flight to Arizona when he got an email from Southwest saying that his flight — which had been delayed and changed — was effectively canceled.

He and his 18-year-old daughter had woken up around 4 a.m. so she could drive him to the airport and keep the car for the holiday, while he visited his girlfriend. They had watched as the temperature drastically declined from minus 7 degrees to minus 17 degrees, and road conditions deteriorated.

“If the email had come in 10 minutes later, I would have been stuck at the airport with my car on the way back to Fort Collins, Colorado,” Mr. Caputo, 49, said.

He was placed on a flight to Phoenix via Las Vegas, but he’d arrive late on Christmas Eve. After some playing around with the Southwest Airlines app, he was able to book a direct flight leaving on Friday, and expects to arrive on time for Christmas Eve.

“I had a three-hour inconvenience this morning. But, you know, I got to come home to my own bed in my own house,” Mr. Caputo said. “And I’m sure there are a lot of people stuck in airports right now.”

Livia Albeck-Ripka and Amanda Holpuch contributed reporting.

Tyson Foods suspends operations at some meatpacking plants.

Tyson, which employs some 140,000 workers across its meatpacking facilities and corporate offices, produces about 20 percent of the beef, pork and chicken in the United States. The company has facilities in more than a dozen states, many of which are in the South and Midwest, areas that are expected to be hit by cold temperatures in the next few days. Subzero to single-digit temperatures are expected in the Midwest.

In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Tyson lobbied the Trump administration to keep its facilities open despite a rising number of infections. The plea came after the company warned of a shortage of meat in the nation’s supply chain, even as pork exports to China rose.

Advertisem*nt

SKIP ADVERTIsem*nT

Advertisem*nt

SKIP ADVERTIsem*nT

Advertisem*nt

SKIP ADVERTIsem*nT

Advertisem*nt

SKIP ADVERTIsem*nT

In Minnesota, residents brush off the first wave but brace for blizzard conditions.

“We get this much snow, I like to get it off the roof kind of to guard against ice dams,” he said. “When it warms up, it all turns to ice.”

He categorized the previous day’s storm as “formidable” but “not even close” to historic. Even the temperature, at minus 8 degrees, was not particularly noteworthy from his perspective.

“This isn’t bad. To me, severe would be 20 below,” he said. “A blue sky and a lot of sun and no wind — it’s pretty nice out here.”

But Mr. Martin was also preparing for conditions to worsen. Meteorologists are predicting blizzard conditions for the Twin Cities starting on Thursday evening, when high winds are expected to kick up the powdery snow and significantly reduce visibility.

“We’ll hunker down inside,” Mr. Martin said, leaning against his broom. “Have a fire and make chili.”

Advertisem*nt

SKIP ADVERTIsem*nT

How are you dealing with the extreme cold? Tell us.

Drivers set on reaching their destinations find comfort at a Des Moines coffee shop determined to stay open.

“We love snow — we are always ready to be here,” she said. “They always plow the street out in front of us early when there’s a snow coming in, so the rule for staff is, regardless of the weather, you’d better plan to be on your shift.”

At one table, Caleb Hinz and Emma Wilke waited for cups of coffee and sandwiches to go before heading almost 245 miles north on Interstate 35 to visit family in Minneapolis. They had already traveled hundreds of miles from Grand Junction, Colo., hitting a road closure in Vail and crossing Nebraska overnight in white-out conditions on Route I-80. They’d passed jackknifed semis and watched cars slide into ditches. They said they had kept going because they were traveling with their dog, Bud, and hadn’t been sure where they might find lodging.

“It was 52 degrees in Denver yesterday, and then there was a point in Nebraska where it went from, like, 22 degrees to 0 and then negative 6 within 15 to 20 minutes and 20 miles,” Mr. Hinz said. Rest stops, he said, were crowded with people determined to continue on their way after stopping for gas and food. He said that in Nebraska they’d spoken with someone who was hoping to make it to Chicago that night.

Mr. Minz and Ms. Wilke exchanged glances and laughed. “I don’t think that was possible,” Ms. Wilke said.

Advertisem*nt

SKIP ADVERTIsem*nT

Holiday shoppers and shipping companies are keeping a close eye on the storm.

Major shippers said they were closely watching the weather across the United States and would alert customers of disruptions as they arise, but few had been reported this week. The companies said that customers concerned about deliveries should monitor shipper websites for updates.

A spokeswoman for the Postal Service said it issues daily weather forecasts to employees in the field and uses information from suppliers, as well as federal, state and local governments and other sources, to make decisions about its operations.

UPS said it had a team of meteorologists on staff to monitor and help plan around bad weather. By Thursday, the company had issued a service alert for the Midwest region, telling customers that contingency plans were in place to help shipments arrive “as quickly as conditions permit.”

FedEx said in a statement that it also had contingency plans to keep staff safe and minimize disruptions.

A spokesman for Amazon said the company was similarly prepared and that customers hoping for gifts in time for Christmas should look for listings that say products will “arrive by Christmas,” since delivery dates listed at checkout account for weather and other factors.

“While the vast majority of deliveries make it to customers without issue, if something does occur, we work with customers directly to make it right,” Sam Stephenson, an Amazon spokesman, said in a statement.

Advertisem*nt

SKIP ADVERTIsem*nT

In Texas, officials hope to avoid a repeat of the devastating 2021 winter storm.

This year, Texas was expected to be largely spared snow and ice, but much of the state was expected to experience bitterly cold weather with strong winds. In the Dallas area, temperatures on Friday were expected to drop into the teens, with the wind chill making it feel below zero, according to the National Weather Service. To the northwest, temperatures in the Texas Panhandle were expected to drop into the single digits early Friday, with wind chill values dropping to minus 19 degrees.

Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas said at a news conference on Wednesday that he understood Texans’ concerns about the reliability of the state’s power grid after last year’s storm.

“I think trust will be earned over the next few days as people see that we have ultra cold temperatures, and the grid is going to be able to perform with ease,” Mr. Abbott said. “Trust has to be earned back over a period of time, and I think that we will show that we can earn that trust.”

The 2021 winter storm prompted investigations into what caused the state power grid to fail, and triggered a number of changes to ensure power plants would be prepared for similar cold weather in the future.

Peter Lake, chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, said at the news conference that “landmark reforms” prompted by the 2021 storm included making sure generators, poles and wires were prepared for cold weather.

“The grid is ready and reliable,” Mr. Lake said. “We expect to have sufficient generation to meet demand throughout this entire winter weather event.”

Pablo Vegas, chief executive of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, known as ERCOT, which manages the state’s electric grid, said that the highest demand for power would come Friday morning as temperatures dipped across the state.

While it will be bitterly cold, with temperatures dropping into the single digits across many areas of the state, the cold won’t last as long as it did during the 2021 winter storm.

During last year’s storm, temperatures in North Texas were below freezing for several days. At Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, temperatures were below 32 degrees for 139 consecutive hours last year, between Feb. 13 and Feb. 19, according to the National Weather Service.

This year, temperatures in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are expected to be below freezing for about half that time, according to the Weather Service. After dipping into the teens on Friday, temperatures in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are expected to rise into the mid 40s by Sunday, the Weather Service said.

Another silver lining for Texans this year is that widespread snow or ice are not in the forecast, Hunter Reeves, a meteorologist with the Weather Service in Fort Worth, said on Wednesday.

During last year’s winter storm, wintry precipitation fell across portions of the state. In some cities, a buildup of snow and ice caused some trees to fall, bringing power lines down and creating more problems for utility services.

“We’re not really going to get any precipitation out of this,” Mr. Reeves said. “The worst of the cold will last through Friday, and then we’ll begin to kind of warm up over the weekend.”

Still, Nim Kidd, head of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said that any lengthy exposure to the cold would be hazardous.

“Any flat tire, any bad battery problems, stuck out in this dangerous cold, can be life threatening,” Mr. Kidd said. “This is a dangerous storm coming our way.”

Advertisem*nt

SKIP ADVERTIsem*nT

Advertisem*nt

SKIP ADVERTIsem*nT

How to avoid frostbite and hypothermia in extreme cold weather.

Of course, many of us have no choice: We have to go to work, take care of others, clear snow, get supplies. If you’ll be outside for any amount of time, you should dress warmly and cover any exposed skin.

Here’s what can happen if you don’t.

Frostbite

In extreme cold, exposed skin can develop frostbite in as little as five minutes, said George T. Chiampas, an emergency medicine doctor and professor at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

The body’s first reaction to extreme cold is to restrict blood and oxygen flow from its extremities, in order to preserve major organs, Dr. Chiampas said. The first signs of frostbite including tingling or pain in the affected areas. If you think you have frostbite, you should immediately go inside and check yourself for any discoloration or other clear sign of frostbite. Fingers, toes and the face are most often affected.

People with frostbite sometimes don’t realize what is happening, because their fingers or other parts of their bodies go numb as it sets in. And if they are also experiencing hypothermia, which can be deadly, their judgment could be seriously impaired. (More on that below.)

Signs of frostbite include skin that has blistered or become discolored, or that feels unusually firm or waxy. It can result in permanent damage and amputation, and can be more dangerous the longer it goes without treatment.

If you think you have frostbite, avoid using a heating pad or hot water, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns: If the affected area is numb, you could get burned. Until you can see a doctor, immerse the area in warm water, change into dry warm clothes, and use blankets and body heat, such as tucking fingers into armpits.

The C.D.C. warns against walking on frostbitten feet or toes or massaging affected areas, which can increase damage.

Hypothermia

When the body is exposed to the cold for prolonged periods, it begins to lose heat faster than it can produce it, according to the C.D.C. Wet conditions are especially dangerous, even in relatively warmer temperatures. A low body temperature renders major organs incapable of functioning properly, and can be deadly. Seniors and others with poor circulation are particularly vulnerable.

In the early stages of hypothermia, people often become disoriented or drowsy. Their judgment may be compromised. Fumbling and slurred speech are telltale signs. This makes hypothermia especially dangerous, according to the C.D.C., “because a person may not know that it’s happening and won’t be able to do anything about it.”

The agency advises taking the person’s temperature if you notice any of those symptoms. A temperature below 95 indicates an emergency, requiring immediate medical attention.

Until you can get medical assistance, get the person inside, remove wet clothing, and gently warm the body, the agency says. (Warm beverages are good. Alcohol is not, as it causes the body to lose heat more rapidly.)

In cases of severe hypothermia, the victim may be unconscious — and may seem not even to have a pulse, or to be breathing. But some hypothermia victims who appear dead can be resuscitated, the C.D.C. says. Call 911 and administer CPR if possible.

Slips, falls and other health issues

Extreme cold can lead to many other dangers — the most obvious, of course, being falls, car accidents and other ice-related injuries. The unanimous advice: Exercise extreme caution.

But it can also play a role in blood clots that cause heart attacks and strokes, and blood pressure tends to rise with exposure to cold. Researchers have found that blood becomes more concentrated and thicker in the cold, as blood flow to the skin is reduced to conserve body heat.

Cellphones (bear with us)

Extreme cold can also affect cellphones. (No, a phone is not technically a body part, but what if you need it to call for help?)

Most manufacturers recommend using cellphones in temperatures ranging from 32 to 95. Otherwise, the battery’s ability to power the device is compromised, and it may shut down. Keeping the phone close to your body, say in a pants pocket, should keep it warm if you’re outside. And it should work fine once it’s back in normal temperatures.

Advertisem*nt

SKIP ADVERTIsem*nT

Holiday travel is a mess. Last year, Omicron added to the mayhem.

Earlier this month, the AAA predicted that nearly 113 million people would travel at least 50 miles from home from Dec. 23 through Jan. 2, with nearly 102 million of them planning to drive and more than seven million more taking to the skies.

Last year, the possibility of smooth travel around the same period was derailed by severe winter weather in the western part of the country and the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which grounded a significant number of airline staff.

Problems around travel began to build on Christmas Eve last year, hitting a new height days later when more than 1,500 flights to, from or within the United States were canceled. Issues continued to hover around the New Year’s weekend, when airlines were canceling more than 1,000 flights a day.

In total, airlines nixed more than 27,000 flights, or about 8 percent of all scheduled trips, in the two weeks starting on Dec. 25, 2021, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking service.

Those problems carried over into the start of 2022, peaking on Jan. 3, when airlines canceled more than 3,100 flights, or about 13 percent of all scheduled trips. From Dec. 26 through Jan. 10, the number of daily flight cancellations remained above 1,000.

As of Thursday morning, weather conditions were beginning to deteriorate across the Midwest, and more than 1,200 flights within, into or out of the country had been canceled, FlightAware said. The highest number of cancellations were out of O’Hare International, Chicago Midway International Airport and Denver International Airport.

United Airlines said earlier this week that it would waive change fees and any differences in fares for passengers traveling to or from any affected airports in Texas, parts of the Midwest and East Coast through Christmas Day.

Amtrak also announced that it would cancel nearly two dozen trains servicing the Midwest region through Sunday, adding that the decision was “taken with abundant caution and in consultation with state transportation departments, host railroads, emergency managers, and weather forecasters.”