As Christmas approaches and a record number of people across the country begin their travels, they may face issues reaching their destinations. The winter weather combined with a possible government shutdown, which could leave TSA agents and air traffic controllers working without pay, are the main reasons for a potential minor chaos at airports.
Although no major winter storms are expected in the days leading up to Christmas, several smaller storms may create challenges for travelers.
AAA projects that more than 119 million people are expected to travel at least 50 miles between Saturday and New Year’s Day, making this the busiest year-end travel season on record. The TSA stated that it expects to screen nearly 40 million people between this Friday (20) and January 2, with the busiest days being Friday, December 27, and December 30.
However, TSA agents who will screen all these travelers and air traffic controllers who will guide the planes may work during this peak season without pay if an agreement to fund the federal government is not reached by midnight on Friday (20).
The large flow of travelers, however, may help pressure lawmakers to break the impasse in Washington. In 2019, a 35-day government shutdown ended after 10 air traffic controllers decided to stay home. These absences temporarily paralyzed flights at New York’s LaGuardia Airport and caused delays in New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Atlanta.
To complete the scenario, Mother Nature is preparing to deliver a respectable dose of winter weather that could impact travel in some parts of the country.
A storm that passed through the Northern Plains and the Midwest earlier this week is heading to the Northeast this Friday (20), bringing a few inches of snow to the interior parts of the Northeast and some snow mixed with rain to the major metropolitan areas.
But it’s not the snow that will be the main concern. The cold accompanying this storm will bring the lowest temperatures of the season to parts of the East over the weekend.
High temperatures in some areas will drop 30 degrees from the highs recorded earlier this week. The high in Atlanta on Saturday will be 47 degrees, a significant drop from the 73 degrees on Wednesday. The high in Raleigh, North Carolina, was 73 degrees on Wednesday, but will continue to fall over the weekend, reaching a high in the low 40s on Sunday.
New York City recorded a high of 53 degrees on Wednesday (20), but will see the high drop below zero on Sunday, with lows in the range of negative 10 degrees.
The good news for those living in the Northeast is that this cold will not last long, and by the middle of next week, they will see temperatures rise again.
Source: CNN