(NewsNation) — Americans heading home after the holidays had to contend with winter storms that left the East Coast under snow and parts of southern California underwater.
More than 9,000 domestic U.S. flights on Saturday were canceled or delayed as of early evening, with many in the New York area, including at John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport, according to the tracking site FlightAware.
The Northeast was battered by a major snowstorm overnight, which prompted governors of both New York and New Jersey to issue states of emergency for large swaths of their states on Friday.
With up to a foot of snow forecasted for parts of the region — the most some have seen since 2022 — officials across the Northeast are encouraging people to stay home.
The highways weren’t faring much better than the airports. Road crews in the region were working to clear snow for drivers, with New York deploying more than 1,600 large plows.
Representatives from American Airlines, United Airlines and JetBlue Airways told Reuters that the carriers had waived change fees normally charged to rebook for passengers whose travel plans may be affected by weather-related disruptions.
Meanwhile, on the West Coast, emergency officials reported that at least four people have died because of major storms in the region. On Friday, five people were injured after a falling boulder triggered a two-car crash on a highway in San Bernardino, California. They are all expected to recover.
The National Weather Service says the worst is over, but Californians aren’t out of the woods yet.
One of the biggest problems in the region has been the rain. California typically doesn’t see much more than an inch of rain at most this time of year, but parts of the state got as much as 8 inches of rainfall over the last few days. The rainfall creates serious mudslide concerns, especially in areas affected by intense wildfires at the start of this year. Some homes in the San Gabriel Mountains are reportedly buried under “several feet” of mud.
Reuters contributed to this report.