Over 1,000 flights canceled nationwide as snowy weather hits upper Midwest
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(NEW YORK) — Over 1,000 flights have been canceled nationwide with the majority due to weather hitting the upper Midwest, according to FlightAware.
Chicago O’Hare International Airport is the most impacted airport by far, with over 700 cancellations and over 500 delays as of Saturday morning. Flights leaving to O’Hare are delayed an average of over five hours due to snow and ice, according to the FAA.
Snow has already begun falling in Chicago with the heaviest snow expected Saturday between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m.
The snow becomes lighter overnight into Sunday morning, with some lingering snow winding down by 12 p.m. Sunday. Between 6 to 10 inches of snow are possible.
A cross-country storm already brought snow from Montana to Missouri later Friday. The storm has begun to move into parts of the Midwest Saturday morning, impacting travel for millions making the journey back home from the holiday.
Winter weather alerts are up for millions ahead of this system from North and South Dakota down to Indiana and Michigan.
High U.S. temperatures through the week (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — As a deep freeze continued Tuesday from the Northeast to the Southeast, Southern California and other parts of the West are expected to see another day of balmy weather.
Some areas in the West are poised to break daily high temperature records. Burbank, California, is expected to hit 87 on Tuesday and Long Beach could hit 89.
Other parts of the West, including San Diego, Portland, Oregon, and Great Falls, Montana, could also surpass daily record-high temperature records on Tuesday.
On Monday, several cities in the West set new daily high temperature records, including Escondido, California, which hit 92 degrees, and Phoenix, Arizona, which saw temperatures climb to 85.
The warm weather in the West is expected to continue on Wednesday. While not expected to see a record-breaking daily temperature, Los Angeles is forecast to reach 89 degrees.
Wind advisories are in place for parts of Southern California, especially along the mountain ranges from southeast Los Angeles down to the Mexico border. San Bernardino, Riverside, Corona and Anaheim are expected to see gusts up to 45 mph and isolated gusts of up to 55 mph from 4 a.m. Pacific time on Wednesday through noon on Thursday.
The warm weather in the West will slowly spread through the middle of the country next week.
Meanwhile, some areas of Florida will get a break from the cold before cooler temperatures return on Thursday and Friday. Orlando is forecast to top 70 on Wednesday.
Much of Florida remained under a freeze warning on Tuesday morning. A cold weather advisory was also in place for Miami.
On Monday, several cities throughout the Southeast set daily low temperature records, including Gainesville, Florida, which recorded a low of 22; Fayetteville, Arkansas, which saw the temperature plummet to 12; and Greensboro, North Carolina, which got down to 3.
Freezing temperatures are expected to continue in other parts of the East and Northeast this week as another cold blast is expected on Wednesday, Thursday and into the weekend.
(LOS ANGELES) — Los Angeles police are searching for two gunmen after a 22-year-old woman — reportedly a Latin singer — was killed in an ambush-style shooting.
Around 1:25 a.m. Saturday, two men approached a parked car in the Northridge neighborhood and fired multiple rounds at several people sitting inside, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Maria De La Rosa was taken to a hospital where she died from gunshot wounds, police said.
The 22-year-old was, according to multiple reports, a Latin singer growing in popularity with about 40,000 Instagram followers.
Two others in the car with her were injured, according to police.
A motive isn’t known and no arrests have been made, police said.
Keith Eli in police photo. St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office
(LOUISIANA) — Officials are raising concerns about the conditions in a Louisiana jail as investigators continue to search for a man who authorities said escaped the facility with two others last week by scaling down a wall.
St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz released new photos and a video Monday of the Dec. 2 escape, when authorities said three detainees, Johnathan Jevon Joseph, Keith Eli and Joseph Allen Harrington, allegedly used sheets to scale the St. Landry Parish Jail’s outer wall, before dropping onto a first-floor roof and fleeing.
At a news conference, Guidroz criticized the conditions of the jail, located 130 miles northwest of New Orleans, and noted that there was ongoing construction he alleged that may have given the detainees a way to escape.
“[The] Parish government had a contracting crew out there fixing some of the water leaks of the roof, and they left extension cords, they left rope and they left any inmate an opportunity to just slide on out,” Guidroz said during the news conference Monday.
Two of the three escapees were found last week. One of the inmates, Harrington, took his own life Thursday after officers tracked him to a home and ordered him to surrender, police said.
Joseph surrendered to police the next day after authorities said they followed a tip and found him in another home.
Eli remains on the loose as of Tuesday and there is a reward for his capture.
Guidroz, meanwhile, has criticized St. Landry Parish President Jessie Bellard over the incident, claiming Guidroz has been asking for funding to repair the 43-year-old jail’s deficiencies.
Bellard said in a Facebook post that the claims of “crumbling walls and rusted out cell door locks were inaccurate.”
“The security incidents that have occurred are primarily due to a shortage of deputies and a lack of training for current staff,” he said.
“The Sheriff must take responsibility for improving deputy pay to ensure we are competitive with surrounding parishes, properly compensating those who risk their lives daily,” Bellard added.
Guidroz dismissed Bellard’s claim, contending that the pay was “competitive.”
“The pay for a non-post-certified corrections officer is $18 and some change [an hour]. If you get post-certified, it’s $19.15, and we’re fixing it to go up to $20,” the sheriff said.
Bellard told ABC affiliate KATC Monday that he disagreed with the sheriff’s characterization of the jail.
“The bricks and mortar are fine, and I have everything to back it up,” he told KATC.
“I have an architect coming from Baton Rouge tomorrow — a corrections specialist — to help design ways to fix the cinder block issues and prevent escapes. If I have to spend the money myself to protect the public, I will. But this only applies to the third floor — that’s where the mortar is weakening. The other floors have brick and mortar on the outside protecting them,” Bellard added.
