The deadly winter storm that’s pummeled southern and central parts of the country is also playing havoc with businesses and shoppers all over the U.S., disrupting FedEx operations, prompting airlines to cancel thousands of flights and Walmart to close 500 of its stores.
Flying in and out of Texas mostly came to a halt as temperatures plunged below zero, with about 800 flights canceled Tuesday at Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport, according to Flightaware.com. Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental had more than 650 delays and cancellations, while more than 60% of Wednesday’s flights canceled at airports in Austin and San Antonio. All told, there were 2,603 flights cancelled on Tuesday within, into or out of the U.S.
The unusual-for-Texas conditions disrupted things as mundane of newspaper deliveries, with the Dallas Morning News advising readers to check out its ePaper replica edition for those whose newspaper deliveries had been delayed by weather.
The arctic blast also created upheaval for shipping giants FedEx and United Parcel Service, both of which warned of delays stretching across the country.
Hazardous conditions would likely cause service delays and disruptions for “inbound and outbound shipments across the U.S.,” FedEx stated Tuesday on its website. The company cited “substantial disruptions” at its Memphis hub Monday night due to winter weather conditions for delays in shipments scheduled for delivery Tuesday across the country.
UPS posted a similar notice, saying bad weather was delaying operations almost everywhere. “Although your location may not be impacted by weather, the movement of packages in the network may be impacted by weather conditions in other areas,” UPS cautioned.
The winter blast had Walmart closing as many as 500 stores in states including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. The retailer had reopened about 40 stores by mid-day Tuesday.
