Winter Storm: What You Need to Know About Getting Around
Six states will have declared a state of emergency by Friday morning.
— -- A major winter storm is bearing down on the East Coast and some 75 million people are in the path of what is predicted to be significant snowfall, potential whiteout conditions and coastal flooding, forecasters say.
The huge winter storm is prompting massive preparations along the East Coast, with many states already declaring a state of emergency and more than 900 flights already canceled.
"We will treat this as a Homeland Security event," D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said.
Six states have already or are planning to declare a state of emergency by Friday morning including Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Tennessee.
This is what those in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast need to know before the storm strikes.
Airline Travel Will Be Slow, If Not Stopped
Airlines have already cancelled 945 flights in, out, or within the United States through the weekend and thousands more to come, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. The same website expects at least 200,000 travelers impacted by cancellations over the next three days.
Some airlines are shutting down operations entirely at airports throughout the storm zone.
American Airlines has cancelled all flights out of Charlotte on Friday, all flights out of Philadelphia and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area on Saturday. All American Airlines flights after the late morning on Saturday will be cancelled out of all three New York City airports.
Delta Air Lines has cancelled all flights out of Charlotte, Raleigh, Lexington, Columbus, Greenville–Spartanburg, Piedmont Triad and Norfolk. Delta is also expected to cancel all flights out of the DC and NYC area by Friday morning.
Frontier Airlines plans to shut down operations out of all Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York and Trenton airports starting Friday at 3 p.m. They plan on reopening these airports on Sunday at 11 a.m., weather permitting.
JetBlue tells ABC News that they have cancelled 68 flights as a result of the impending snow storm.
Southwest Airlines has cancelled 430 flights out of 3,600 previously scheduled for both Thursday and Friday. Southwest has also elected to discontinue all service out of the Baltimore-Washington International airport from Friday at 3pm Et until Sunday morning.
United Airlines has confirmed to ABC News it will be shutting down its operations at Dulles International Airport starting Friday 4 p.m., and expects the shutdown to also extend to other airports in the Washington metro area. United plans for some operations to resume by Sunday.
Rail Travel Will Be Affected
Amtrak has told ABC News that it will operate on a modified schedule with fewer trains traveling through the Northeast.
The Washington, D.C., Metro subway and bus system are planning to shut down on Saturday and Sunday. Metro trains will come to a halt at 11 p.m. and buses at 5 p.m. Friday and remain closed through the weekend.
What Lyft and Uber are Doing To Prepare
Both Lyft and Uber are reminding drivers to be extra cautious and stay safe on the roads, with Uber sending out safety suggestions to drivers who choose to work during the inclement weather.
Uber is also taking significant steps to keep prices from sky-rocketing.
When a governor declares a state of emergency, Uber places a cap on the surge, which will be the average surge amount over the last couple months, an Uber spokesperson tells ABC News. As always, 75-80% of the user’s payment goes to the driver, with the remaining 20-25% goes to Uber. Uber will donate all proceeds made from the surge to the American Red Cross.
States Are Working Around The Clock To Keep You Safe
More than 1,997,750 tons of salt is ready to be deployed across 7 states to treat state roadways and interstate highways.
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