Between 'silver linings' and 'snowbird' reroutes, travelers are forced to adjust plans

Between 'silver linings' and 'snowbird' reroutes, travelers are forced to adjust plans

Nathan Diller, USA TODAY

Sat, January 24, 2026 at 9:03 PM UTC

2 min read

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Shannon Worley and her 11-year-old took a mother-daughter trip to New York to see “Wicked.” But their two-day vacation was unexpectedly extended as a major winter storm rolled in, bringing heavy sleet and snow to their home state of Texas on Friday, Jan 23.

American Airlines canceled the Austin-area pair’s original direct flight home on Saturday, Jan. 24, and later scrapped the first leg of their rebooked connecting flight through Miami. “My daughter's thrilled, because we can do all the things,” Worley, 39, told USA TODAY.

They spent their extra day exploring the Big Apple, walking around 5th Avenue, stopping by Rockefeller Center, and visiting a “Stranger Things” pop-up at the Microsoft Experience Center. They rebooked a flight out for Sunday that had not been canceled – yet.

Flight canceled or delayed? Here's what you need to do.

“The silver lining would be just extra time here with my daughter,” said Worley, who works as a photographer. “And then I guess what's a little bit nerve-wracking is just being able to get home and then drive home from the airport.” After speaking with USA TODAY, their third return flight was canceled, leaving them searching for other options.

She’s not alone. The storm has disrupted thousands of U.S. flights through the weekend, with at least 3,800 canceled on Jan. 24 as of 3:20 p.m. and more than 2,600 delayed, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. Over 8,400 more are canceled for Sunday, Jan. 25.

Those numbers are likely to rise as the storm continues to move across the country.

Much of the nation east of the Rocky Mountains is hunkered down for what could be the worst winter storm of the season, followed by some of the coldest temperatures seen in years. The storm began out of Texas and Oklahoma Friday evening, hitting the region with heavy sleet and snow. Forecasters have warned of "catastrophic" ice accumulation. On Saturday, the system is expected to push towards Virginia, dumping a foot of snow or more on parts of the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic, while New England sees double-digit subzero temperatures. See the dramatic scenes of frigid cold temperatures, beginning here with an image of a jogger on the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge in Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 24, 2026.

National Guard vehicles are seen at the Starbucks parking lot on Union Avenue on Jan. 24, 2026, after a winter storm brought snow, sleet and ice to the Mid-South. The wintry blast was expected to continue through Jan. 26.

Ollie Waterbury, 10, plays in the snow as he watches his dog Cloud run around at the Overton Park Shell in Memphis, Tenn., on January 24, 2026. “This is our classic spot,” Ollie’s mom Whitney Waterbury said. “Their first go-to request as soon as any powder hits the ground.”

Palm trees are swayed by harsh wind at Water's Edge Park in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Jan. 24, 2026. A strong cold front was expected to hit the Coastal Bend in the evening.

People load up their vehicles with groceries as heavy rain falls at Walmart on Saratoga Boulevard in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Jan. 24, 2026.

A snow plow passes down Commerce Ave. in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. A winter storm brought snow and ice to Middle Tennessee on Saturday.

A truck plows snow on Union Avenue on Jan. 24, 2026, after a winter storm brought snow, sleet and ice to the Mid-South. The wintry blast was expected to continue through Jan. 26.

A family gets a photo in the snow outside of Madison@McLean in Memphis, Tenn., on January 24, 2026. A winter storm brought severe weather and frigid temperatures to Memphis late January 23rd.

Union Avenue is seen covered in snow in Memphis, Tenn., on January 24, 2026. A winter storm brought severe weather and frigid temperatures to Memphis late January 23rd.

A southwest flight takes off at Nashville International Airport as snow falls on January 24, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee.

A couple buys a kerosene space heater to help heat their home in preparation for a winter storm in Lewiston, Maine on January 24, 2026. Americans stripped supermarket shelves January 23 ahead of potentially "catastrophic" winter weather that threatened at least 160 million people across the country with transportation chaos, blackouts and life-threatening cold.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a salt depot during a news conference about preparations for the winter storm in New York on January 24, 2026.

Snow falls on 3rd Ave. in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. A winter storm brought snow and ice to Middle Tennessee on Saturday.

See stunning photos from the massive winter storm blanketing the US

Much of the nation east of the Rocky Mountains is hunkered down for what could be the worst winter storm of the season, followed by some of the coldest temperatures seen in years. The storm began out of Texas and Oklahoma Friday evening, hitting the region with heavy sleet and snow. Forecasters have warned of "catastrophic" ice accumulation. On Saturday, the system is expected to push towards Virginia, dumping a foot of snow or more on parts of the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic, while New England sees double-digit subzero temperatures. See the dramatic scenes of frigid cold temperatures, beginning here with an image of a jogger on the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge in Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 24, 2026.

'We are going to stay until it's all clear'

Jill Hite and her husband ducked out of the storm’s path just in time.

The Indiana-based couple was visiting Austin, where their daughter lives, as the icy weather neared. Hite was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and was getting a second opinion from physicians there.

They planned to fly home to Fort Wayne, Indiana, early Saturday morning to make it back for an MRI she had scheduled on Monday, but their American flight through Dallas was canceled. “And then we tried several other flights, but all the connections were through Dallas or Atlanta or Chicago, where we couldn't get because we knew we didn't want to get stuck in one of those locations or have our flight canceled again,” Hite, 58, said.

They have a “snowbird house” in Florida, and decided to head there instead, booking a direct Delta Air Lines flight to Tampa and then driving roughly two hours to Punta Gorda. Hite plans to get the MRI in Florida instead.

“We are going to stay until it’s all clear to get back up there.”

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stranded in NYC, rerouted to Florida: Winter storm travel impacts

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