Sunday has proven to be a brutal travel day, whether by car or plane, as roadways and runways in Mississippi are seeing significant ice due to impacts brought forth by Winter Storm Fern.
Automobile travelers in north Mississippi have been asked to stay off the roads since Friday evening. The city of Oxford issued a shelter-in-place order on Sunday morning after hours of freezing rain resulted in one to two inches of ice accumulation with trees, power lines, and street lamps being damaged.
One resident who lost power and decided to drive to his brother’s house – where there was heat – on Sunday morning before the shelter-in-place order went into effect said a usually five-minute drive “took me about an hour.”
The Mississippi Department of Transportation reported Sunday around noon that 37 counties are seeing icy roadways and bridges.
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Smaller airports across the region like Olive Branch Airport have closed for the time being while others have scaled back on the number of flights. Just across the state line, all flights from Memphis International were canceled Saturday with cancellations continuing into Sunday.
In Jackson, where cold rain was prevalent overnight Saturday and into Sunday morning with snow flurries being spotted in the metro area, the Jackson-Medgar Evers Wiley International Airport (JAN) announced all inbound and outbound flights through Southwest Airlines and Delta have been canceled for Sunday. Most American Airlines flights from JAN are canceled, as well.
“Due to the winter storm, significant flight cancellations are impacting JAN, however the airport remains operable, and travelers are strongly encouraged to confirm flight status with their respective airline before arriving as safety remains our top priority,” a statement from JAN reads, also encouraging travelers to contact airlines directly for updates or rebooking options.
Nationally, widespread cancellations and delays are being reported at some of the nation’s busiest airports as Fern threatened nearly 180 million people – more than half the U.S. population – in its path stretching from the southern Rocky Mountains to New England, the National Weather Service said. After sweeping through the South, the storm moved into the Northeast on Sunday. NWS said Sunday just before 1 p.m. that the storm’s trek in Mississippi “is over,” but “many roads are still wet and many people remain without power.”
More than 10,800 flights were canceled across the U.S. on Sunday, according to flight-tracking site Flight Aware. Aviation analytics company Cirium said Sunday morning U.S. flight cancellations were around 35%, making for the highest experienced cancellation event since the pandemic.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.