Winter storms threaten to snarl US holiday travel

A strong winter storm was expected to drop up to a foot of snow in parts of Colorado and Wyoming, prompting airlines to issue travel alerts and the National Weather Service to issue blizzard and winter weather warnings from the Rocky Mountains to the Great Lakes.

About a quarter of Denver International Airport’s 1,500 flights on Tuesday were canceled Monday afternoon, and airport officials said more cancellations are likely.

The storm was expected to move into the Plains later Tuesday, bringing high wind and more snow to Minnesota, Wisconsin and upper Michigan, according to The Associated Press (AP).

The second storm, brewing in the Pacific, was expected to hit the West Coast on Tuesday afternoon or evening, bringing snow to the mountains and wind and rain along the coasts of California and Oregon.

For those who are flying, the airlines expect traffic to be up about 4% from this time last year. Airlines added about 850 flights and 108,000 seats per day on average to handle the increase over last year’s crowds, according to the trade group Airlines for America.

Airline travel before Thanksgiving tends to be spread out over several days, but most people want to go home on the Sunday or Monday after the holiday.

American Airlines plans to operate 7,046 flights Sunday, just one less than on Aug. 8, its heaviest schedule this year. In all, 22 of American’s 23 busiest days occurred during the summer vacation season, with this Sunday being the only exception.