Travel Alert March 2019: Winter Weather Affects Northern Plains and Upper Midwestern United States

If the northern plains and upper midwestern United States are in your travel plans over the weekend, you may want to consider delaying your travel — or, at least, keep yourself updated as to the latest information pertaining to the weather — due to winter weather which is already disrupting travel.

Travel Alert March 2019: Winter Weather Affects Northern Plains and Upper Midwestern United States

Through Monday, March 11, 2019, up to one foot of snow is expected to accumulate from southeastern North Dakota and eastern South Dakota through the entire upper peninsula of Minneapolis, Duluth, Brainerd, Fargo and Saint Paul are cities which are included in this zone.

Cities which are forecast to receive up to six inches of snow include Rapid City, Bismarck, Grand Forks and Green Bay; while Sioux City, Oshkosh and Traverse City are forecast to receive up to three inches of snow.

Wind gusts of up to 55 miles per hour are forecast from extreme northeastern Colorado all the way through much of the northwestern third of New York state — including cities such as Chicago, Syracuse, Kansas City, Detroit, Lincoln, Indianapolis, Buffalo, Omaha, Cleveland, Springfield, Wichita, Toronto and Buffalo. Wind gusts of up to 45 miles per hour are forecast in such cities as Minneapolis, Albany, Charleston, Québec City, Milwaukee, Burlington, Des Moines, Pittsburgh, Evansville, Madison, Cincinnati, Montréal and Saint Paul. In this large region, expect blizzard conditions, strong crosswinds, electric power outages and damage to trees.

Meanwhile, expect significant rain to fall in the southern United States from Dallas to Cincinnati and including Memphis, Huntsville, Jackson, Little Rock, Saint Louis and Nashville. Severe thunderstorms are likely, which can cause delays or cancellations of flights. Tornados are not out of the question in these areas.

Flight Waivers, Delays and Cancellations

If the northern plains and upper midwestern United States are in your travel plans over the weekend, expect delays and cancellations of flights. Keep up to date on the latest information pertaining to the winter weather which may affect your travel plans. Better yet, postponing or canceling your trip might be a better option — no matter which mode of travel you plan on taking.

If you have a flight scheduled, your flight may be delayed or canceled — and you may be eligible for a waiver of a fee to change your itinerary. If you are driving in any of the affected areas, watch out for deteriorating weather conditions and traffic problems.

Here are ten airlines which have issued travel alerts as a result of this weather system:

• American Airlines has issued travel alerts for 16 airports in six states for Saturday, March 9, 2019 through Sunday, March 10, 2019; and Wednesday, March 13, 2019 is the last day on which tickets must be reissued and rebooked travel must begin.
• Delta Air Lines has issued travel alerts for 26 airports in five states for Saturday, March 9, 2019 through Sunday, March 10, 2019; and Thursday, March 14, 2019 is the last day on which tickets must be reissued and rebooked travel must begin.
• United Airlines has issued travel alerts for 19 airports in five states for Saturday, March 9, 2019 through Sunday, March 10, 2019; and Wednesday, March 13, 2019 is the last day on which tickets must be reissued and rebooked travel must begin.
• Southwest Airlines has issued travel alerts for Chicago Midway, Milwaukee and Minneapolis-Saint Paul for Saturday, March 9, 2019 through Sunday, March 10, 2019; and Sunday, March 24, 2019 is the last day on which tickets must be reissued and rebooked travel must begin.
• JetBlue Airways has issued a travel alert for Minneapolis-Saint Paul for Saturday, March 9, 2019 through Sunday, March 10, 2019; and Wednesday, March 13, 2019 is the last day on which tickets must be reissued and rebooked travel must begin.
• Frontier Airlines has issued travel alerts for Fargo, Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, Minneapolis, Madison and Sioux Falls for Saturday, March 9, 2019 through Sunday, March 10, 2019; and Friday, March 22, 2019 is the last day on which tickets must be reissued and rebooked travel must begin.
• Sun Country Airlines has issued a travel alert for Minneapolis-Saint Paul for Saturday, March 9, 2019 through Sunday, March 10, 2019; and Sunday, March 17, 2019 is the last day on which tickets must be reissued and rebooked travel must begin.
• Air Canada has issued travel alerts for:
  • Minneapolis-Saint Paul for Saturday, March 9, 2019 through Sunday, March 10, 2019.
  • Chicago for Saturday, March 9, 2019.
• WestJet Airways has issued travel alerts for:
  • Thunder Bay for Saturday, March 9, 2019.
  • Southern Ontario region for Sunday, March 10, 2019.
• KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has issued travel alerts for 26 airports in five states for Saturday, March 9, 2019 through Sunday, March 10, 2019; and Thursday, March 14, 2019 is the last day on which tickets must be reissued and rebooked travel must begin.

Summary

Be sure to contact your airline or transportation provider for the latest information pertaining to your travels — if they are adversely affected — and please: travel safely.

Photograph ©2010 by Brian Cohen.