The blizzard that allegedly was supposed to smack the Northeast is now affecting flights in and out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport with massive cancellations and multiple delays. As of 7:30 a.m., FLL is reporting 112 canceled flights and 20 delays.
"Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is experiencing major impacts to our flight operations due to the storm in the Northeast," said Gregory Meyer, public information officer for the Broward County Aviation Department.
Meyer also said 25 aircraft were parked and waiting for the storm to pass.
The blizzard, or at least the forecast of it, has had a ripple effect on flights across the country. Even before the storm hit, airports began canceling flights.
On Monday, the National Weather Service had forecast two to three feet of snow across most parts of the Northeast, including the New York and New England areas. Following that forecast, 2,600 flights had been scratched.
Flights to Newark, New Jersey, and Philadelphia have been canceled since midday Monday. Meanwhile, 91 percent of flights to LaGuardia in New York have been canceled nationwide, according to FlightAware.
New: No flights out of @BostonLogan after 8pm tonight #blizzard
— WBZ NewsRadio (@wbznewsradio) January 26, 2015According to FlightAware.com, Palm Beach International has a total of 75 flight cancellations.
Miami International Airport is also reporting major cancellations, with 47 arrivals and 49 departures were canceled.
In all, more than 5,000 flights to and from East Coast airports have been canceled as of Monday afternoon.
All of these headaches after the storm itself was a lot lighter than originally forecast. While there was still heavy snowfall in parts of the Northeast, the massive blizzard that was expected didn't pack the punch forecasters said it would.
The forecast was so off, in fact, that meteorologists have come out and apologized on Tuesday morning, admitting they got it very wrong.
Gary Szatkowski, the meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service's office in Mt. Holly, New Jersey, took to Twitter to issue a public mea culpa.
My deepest apologies to many key decision makers and so many members of the general public.
— Gary Szatkowski (@GarySzatkowski) January 27, 2015He even acknowledged that people's lives were interrupted in expectation of a massive snowstorm.
You made a lot of tough decisions expecting us to get it right, and we didn't. Once again, I'm sorry.
— Gary Szatkowski (@GarySzatkowski) January 27, 2015Szatkowski did say that New York and Boston were still expected to see good amounts of snow but that the rest of the forecast was off.
How this will impact flights remains to be seen. But you can keep track of flights here or check on your flight at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International here.
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