Winter Snow Storm Causes Dire Travel Conditions
By Ava Schmidt
January 31, 2025
Although snow storms are common at this time of year, some of the most recent ones have been causing roads to be unfit for driving. “The first winter storm of 2025 was deadly and disruptive, killing at least four people, shutting down roadways in the Great Plains,” NBC News said. Both the East coast and the Great Plains have been affected by these recent storms. Certain cities like Sugar Creek, Missouri and Kansas set new records of snow since the 1990s. In the first few days of the new year, they received at least 14 inches of snow, which has caused the roads to ice over rapidly. And due to the abnormally cold environment, about 230,000 people across the Great Plains, and 57,881 homes in Virginia have lost power.
After the roads became icy, officials said, “Most non-emergency federal employees who work in offices should stay home today.” Since most residents didn’t have tire chains, this was an attempt to keep them off the roads. Sadly, four people lost their lives as a result of the stormy weather conditions, and numerous others were hurt in car accidents and off-road slides.
Although the conditions improved rapidly, many advised drivers to stay off roads, as the Missouri Department of Transportation said, “If you saw snow and ice fall yesterday, continue to AVOID TRAVELING today." This also applied to schools across the affected states as they closed for nearly a week. Nearly 5,000 flights to and from the United States are stranded as a result of these winter storms, which are also affecting flight and travel conditions, as well as almost 2,300 flights across five states were canceled. Many travelers complained that their luggage had not yet arrived while they were looking for the closest hotel to the airport to wait out the storm.
Overall, many travelers have experienced difficulties returning home from the holidays as a result of these winter storms. The impacted states were not used to the abrupt weather shift, due to the fact that the storms are typical during this time of year.