Winter Storm Quiana is disrupting travel in the Southwest Thursday, bringing measurable snowfall to Las Vegas for the first time since 2008.
According to flight-tracking website FlightAware.com, more than 480 flights within, into or out of the U.S. have been canceled as of 9:30 a.m. ET Thursday and another 1,160 have experienced delays.
This comes on the heels of 2,424 flight cancellations and 7,975 delays on Wednesday that were largely the result of Winter Storm Petra’s impact in the Midwest and Northeast.
More than 100 of Thursday’s cancellations have come at Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport.
Las Vegas official snowfall for Feb 20th is 0.5 inches. This breaks a daily snowfall record for this date
It is also the second latest date (winter season) where a half inch or more of snowfall was recorded. Record latest was 0.6″ on Feb 25th, 1987#vegasweather #VegasSnow pic.twitter.com/EAFJLC6vYJ
— NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) February 21, 2019
#WinterStormQuiana will allow the snow to pile up in the Southwest before spreading snow, wind and ice into the Plains, Midwest into this weekend: https://t.co/EEAqjzIZU2 pic.twitter.com/QIPIT9kh8B
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) February 21, 2019
Weather.com reported there were numerous car accidents near Flagstaff, Arizona. The Arizona Department of Transportation warned people to avoid travel during the storm, which is forecasted to dump snow on parts of the Southwest and portions of the Rockies into Friday night.
This is not your typical winter storm. Snow and ice are affecting I-17 all the way down to just north of Black Canyon City. Chains or 4×4 vehicles are recommended north of the Sedona turnoff (SR 179). Avoid travel during this storm. #aztraffic #azwx pic.twitter.com/UVKCqfPkUo
— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) February 21, 2019
Quiana is also expected to bring more snow, ice and wind to the Plains and Midwest later this week and into the weekend. Near-blizzard conditions could be possible in some places. The Great Lakes region and even New England could also be impacted over the weekend, according to Weather.com. That’s brutal news for some travelers who are still recovering from Petra.
As always, travelers are encouraged to contact their airline to confirm their flight status prior to arriving at the airport while drivers should exercise caution when traveling in areas under a winter weather advisory.