Winter storm causing travel issues across the country

January 22, 2016 7:49 pm

By Bianca Buono

bbuono@abc6.com

The weekend storm is to blame for several travel issues across the country, including in Rhode Island.

Thousands of flights have been cancelled across the country Friday and Saturday. Here at T.F. Green, several flights headed for Baltimore, Washington D.C., Charlotte, are all canceled. Fortunately, the airport is still up and running, and many travelers were able to get out Friday and escape the storm.

Flyers out of T.F. Green are thankful to be getting out before winter storm Jonas hits.

"I was like, ‘I hope it doesn’t hit us before we leave’ and we were lucky," said one traveler.

"To be able to go some place warm and not have to shovel, I’m very happy," said Robin Enos.

Enos is one of those lucky travelers. Although her original flight for Saturday was canceled, she was able to get on a plane Friday to beat the storm.

"I got on a flight that had three seats left and I’m flying out today. I’m going to miss the storm," said Enos.

For those not lucky enough to be headed away from the storm, Rhode island officials say that they’re ready and doing all they can to stay on top of the incoming snow–and are prepared for the absolute worst!

"We’ve been watching the models three to four times a day. And again, we have a whole series of things that we do in preparation, so we have a winter execution checklist that we follow," said Peter Gaynor, Director of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency.

The command center for the storm is already up and running at the EMA in Cranston. Governor Gina Raimondo and her team are laying out the plan for the weekend, which includes nearly 400 plow trucks on standby and 47 thousand pounds of salt ready to be thrown out on the roads.

"We have plenty of salt for this, we have plenty of tow trucks, and plenty of plows for this. National Grid is mobilized and ready. You know we’re ready we’re going to take care of people," said Raimondo.

The Governor canceled her trip to Switzerland earlier this week because of winter storm Jonas. One thing the EMA is keepig a close eye on is the potential for power outages due to high winds.