Travel

Some 46 million people from the northern Rockies to the Northeast remain under winter weather alerts into the weekend, as two weather systems threaten to disrupt post-Thanksgiving travel with chilly temperatures, heavy snow and dangerous driving conditions.Heavy lake-effect snow will continue across the Great Lakes region from Friday through early Saturday morning, with snow squalls bringing quick bursts of heavy snow and potential whiteout conditions for the interior Northeast on Friday, according to the National Weather Service.More than 2,200 flights traveling to, from or within the U.S. were delayed as of Friday afternoon, according to flight tracking website FlightAware, with 50 flights canceled.That storm already fueled rounds of heavy lake-effect snow across portions of the Plain...

The Trump administration plans to require travelers from more than 40 countries to provide their social media histories from the last five years to enter the U.S., according to a notice published Tuesday in the Federal Register.The data would be “mandatory” for new entrants to the U.S., who hail from 42 countries that are part of the visa waiver program, according to the notice from Customs and Border Protection.Residents of the United Kingdom and Germany are among the countries from which visitors do not require visas to visit the U.S., which, according to the notice, could add an extra hurdle for travelers. British citizens and people of other waived countries currently can complete “Electronic System for Travel Authorizations” in lieu of obtaining visas.Providing social media histori...

HONG KONG — Police in Hong Kong arrested a passenger on Thursday for allegedly attempting to open the door of a plane during a flight from Boston to the Chinese territory.The 20-year-old male suspect, a Chinese passport holder with the last name Zhang, attempted the act on a Cathay Pacific flight early Thursday and was reported to police, a Hong Kong Police Force spokesperson told NBC News by phone on Friday.“Our cabin crew immediately attended to the situation, inspected the door to ensure it was securely closed, and reported the incident to the relevant authorities and the police,” Cathay Pacific, which is Hong Kong’s flagship airline, said in an emailed statement to NBC News.No crew members or passengers were injured, and the flight landed safely, the airline said. “The case has been...

A powerful storm system continues to disrupt travel, placing 64 million people under winter weather alerts that span the eastern two-thirds of the country.A string of tornadoes erupted in central Illinois on Sunday, with preliminary National Weather Service reports saying eight homes and a garage were destroyed and two other homes sustained significant structural damage in Macon County. No injuries were reported.NBC affiliate WAND of Decatur reported that the roof of a home in Macon County was ripped off by a tornado's winds but that multiple people and pets inside were able to escape uninjured. It was one of two unconfirmed tornadoes in the county Sunday afternoon, the station said.The tornadoes followed the leading edge of a cold front that caused plummeting temperatures and created r...

Drivers in Buffalo, New York, were warned to stay home because of visibility worries Monday, and Ohioans got temperature whiplash from 68 degrees to 11 as a winter storm created misery for millions.Buffalo Airport recorded a wind gust of 75 mph around 11 a.m. Monday, the National Weather Service said, and the New York Department of Transportation warned of “near-zero visibility in some areas.”“If you can, avoid travel and stay off the roads while these conditions continue,” the Transportation Department aid on X, sharing a video of the conditions at Buffalo’s Skyway.A bomb cyclone dumped snow on the Midwest and the Northeast over the weekend. Social media video verified by NBC News showed potent winds pushing trees to the ground in Buffalo on Saturday, adding to roadway hazards in the r...

Millions of Americans will be closing out 2025 will brutal winter weather. An estimated 67 million people remain under wind alerts across the Northeast and New England, including metropolitan areas stretching from Washington, D.C., to Boston, according to an NBC News analysis. Wind gusts will get as strong as 50 mph in Boston, 45 mph in New York and 40 mph in the nation's capital. A woman walks through the snow-covered Boston Public Garden on Saturday.John Tlumacki / Boston Globe via Getty ImagesSeven million people will also remain under winter alerts for the ongoing lake effect snow. Areas downwind of lakes Erie and Ontario can expect an additional 12-24 inches of snow with locally higher mounts up to 36 inches.New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a state of emergency in part of the stat...

A shutdown of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that took effect early Saturday impacts the agency responsible for screening passengers and bags at airports across the country. Travelers with airline reservations may be nervously recalling a 43-day government shutdown that led to historic flight cancellations and long delays last year.Transportation Security Administration officers are expected to work without pay while lawmakers remain without an agreement on DHS’ annual funding. TSA officers also worked through the record shutdown that ended Nov. 12, but aviation experts say this one may play out differently.Trade groups for the U.S. travel industry and major airlines nonetheless warned that the longer DHS appropriations are lapsed, the longer security lines at the nation’s com...

All flights to and from El Paso International Airport in Texas have been halted for “special security reasons,” the Federal Aviation Administration said early Wednesday. “No pilots may operate an aircraft in the areas covered by this NOTAM,” the FAA said, using the abbreviation for Notice to Airmen. It listed the reason as “temporary flight restrictions for Special Security Reasons.” It did not elaborate on why the restrictions had been put in place for El Paso, which borders Mexico.The restriction for the airspace over El Paso and the neighboring community of Santa Teresa, New Mexico came in at 6:30 a.m. UTC, or coordinated universal time (11:30 p.m. ET). It will end at the same time on Feb. 21. The airport confirmed the development in a travel advisory issued on social media, saying t...

Forecasters warned that a major storm was set to wallop the Southeast this weekend, days after another weather system brought paralyzing snow and ice to large parts of the United States.A new round of Arctic air was moving across the country after a low-pressure system formed in the Southern Plains on Thursday. It was moving east and “expected to produce a major winter storm” for the mid-Atlantic states and the Carolinas and Virginia, the National Weather Service said.Some forecasters have declared the weather system will become a "bomb cyclone," a fast-developing storm that's the winter equivalent of a hurricane, and warn it could bring heavy snow and blizzard conditions. "The storm, in all its fury in the Carolinas and southern Virginia, would be a formidable event for states in the ...

Days-long deep freezeA deep low-pressure system has formed over Eastern Canada and is ushering Arctic air straight into the Northeast and the midsection of the U.S. The cold air will hang over the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic for the next couple of days, with wind chill temperatures below zero in many areas. Air temperatures in the teens and 20s forecast for the rest of the week are 15 to 25 degrees below average. Another low-pressure system will affect the Southeast on Friday and Saturday, bringing wind chills well below what the South is used to by Sunday. Miami could dip below 40 degrees for the first time in more than a decade. This blast of air will be even colder than what the U.S. is experiencing on Wednesday, with approximately 80 record lows possible from Friday morning to Monday...