UPDATE: Tuesday, December 30, 2025, at 9 a.m. ET
Flight disruptions continue to persist at airports across the Midwest and Northeast as a large swath of the U.S. recovers from a long holiday weekend of winter weather.
From heavy snowfall to crippling ice and gusty winds, Mother Nature has been dishing out a slew of obstacles for travelers taking to the skies and hitting the roads to end 2025.
According to flight-tracking website FlightAware.com, more than 180 flights within, into or out of the U.S. have been canceled on Tuesday, with another 1,300 delayed as of 9 a.m. ET.
A bulk of the impacts are being felt at airports in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and New York City. Roughly one in 10 flights at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport has been delayed for Tuesday.
Nonetheless, travel conditions are improving after flight cancellations soared above 1,000 nationwide on Saturday and reached 960 on Monday. What's more, more than 30,000 flight delays were reported from Saturday through Monday.
UPDATE: Monday, December 29, 2025, at 2 p.m. ET
Nearly 700 flights within, into or out of the U.S. have been canceled Monday, with another 4,800 delayed, due to winter weather impacts being felt across the Midwest and Northeast, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.com.
Snow, ice, freezing rain and wind continue to cause headaches for travelers still hoping to get home after Christmas and or reach their New Year's Eve destinations this week.
Airports being hit the hardest as of Monday afternoon include Atlanta, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Minneapolis, among others. For example, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport has reported more than 650 flight delays, while more than half of Buffalo Niagara International Airport's Monday schedule has been scrapped as of 2 p.m. ET.
UPDATE: Monday, December 29, 2025, at 8:50 a.m. ET
Travelers in the Midwest and Northeast U.S. continue to be hampered by winter weather after a long weekend of widespread flight cancellations and challenging driving conditions.
According to flight-tracking website FlightAware.com, more than 430 flights within, into or out of the U.S. have been canceled for Monday, as of 8:50 a.m. ET.
Meanwhile, more than 1,500 scheduled flights have been delayed.
Airports in cities such as Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC are among those being hit the hardest to begin the final week of 2025.
Buffalo Niagara International Airport has reported more than 60 cancellations for Monday, with that figure representing more than one-third of the airport's scheduled flights.
Original Text
Post-Christmas holiday travel plans across the United States are
being thrown into chaos as a powerful storm system sweeps across a huge swath
of the country, bringing just about every type of nasty weather
imaginable — from snow and ice to high winds, heavy rain and thunderstorms.
By midday Sunday,
the ripple effects were already being felt nationwide. At the time of publication,
more than 5,400 flights flying into, out of or within the U.S. had been delayed,
while over 1,000 were canceled, according to FlightAware.
The Federal
Aviation Administration confirmed that Minneapolis-Saint Paul International
Airport was under a ground delay due to weather, which is expected to last
until 11:59 p.m. CST with an average delay of just over 3 hours, according to NBC
News.
This massive
storm is placing 38 million people under winter weather alerts stretching from
the northern Plains all the way to New England. Snow was already falling in
Colorado, Wisconsin and Minnesota early Sunday, while a separate band of heavy
rain and thunderstorms pushed through Iowa and the Ohio Valley, creating gusty
winds and lightning that further complicated flight schedules and highway
travel.
Later Sunday, the
most intense weather is expected to organize into a strong line of storms from
the Great Lakes down into the mid-South — right through some of the country’s
busiest travel hubs. Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit and Memphis are all in the path
of this system, raising the likelihood of airport ground stops, delayed
departures and missed connections. Adding to the concern, four million people
in Illinois and Indiana are under a slight risk for severe weather, including
the possibility of tornadoes.
In the Midwest
and Great Lakes, snow will intensify through Sunday afternoon and into Monday
morning, with blizzard-like conditions possible in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin
and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Snow showers paired with 40 mph winds will make
driving dangerous.
Meanwhile, the
Northeast is bracing for freezing rain and snow starting Sunday evening. Parts
of Pennsylvania and New York will be hit first, with the system spreading into
New England through Monday night before finally pushing offshore early Tuesday.
Ice buildup of up to half an inch is possible in some areas, raising the risk
of power outages and making roads extremely slick from northern Pennsylvania
through Maine.
For travelers,
the takeaway is simple: Expect delays, cancellations and tough driving
conditions well into the start of the week — and check flight and road
conditions before heading out.
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