MINNEAPOLIS — Don't you just hate it when other people's problems become yours?
Hundreds of would-be travelers scrambled to rebook or make other arrangements Friday, not because of disruptive weather here in Minnesota, but conditions elsewhere in the country.
As of 4 p.m., 28 flights were canceled at MSP International Airport, with another 32 delayed. Metropolitan Airports Commission spokesperson John Welbes said the largest share of the impacted flights involved Milwaukee and Chicago, where a winter storm system triggered a ground stop until 8 p.m. at both O'Hare and Midway Airports.
Welbes said a ground stop was issued in Atlanta until 4 p.m. due to thunderstorms, a major disruption in the system as many direct and connecting flights go through Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Throw in an additional ground stop in Denver through early afternoon, and it made a recipe for major travel headaches.
"There will be challenges throughout the day due to this system," Welbes concluded.
One of those searching for options was KARE 11 producer Justine Zirbes, who was due to take off on a 3:20 p.m. flight to Chicago with her daughter, Ruby, who is set to compete in the Windy City Invitational gymnastics meet. Their flight was canceled, leaving Zirbes scrambling to rebook and throwing a major wrench in their plans. Instead of having some time to experience Chicago, it will be more of a fly-in, fly-out experience.
"This was supposed to be a fun mother-daughter trip," she said, shaking her head.
As more than 1,000 flights were canceled at Chicago's two main airports Friday, the National Weather Service said some parts of Illinois were bracing for up to a foot of snow through Saturday.
With the strong winter storm system impacting just about every region of the U.S., conditions could best be described as "fluid" in Friday night. Those who are lucky enough to still have a flight are advised to keep tabs on the MSP flight website or call your airline for the latest developments.
KARE's Lou Raguse was at MSP Friday night, where he said a full crew was called in to ensure the airfield stayed open through the night into Saturday if the weather picked up like predicted.
As of 5 p.m., none of the canceled or delayed flights were caused by weather in Minnesota.
As for the roads, the Minnesota State Patrol reported 175 crashes from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., including 12 with injuries. There were also 44 vehicle spinouts and one jackknifed semi.
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
Watch more WeatherMinds:
Watch the latest deep-dives and explainers on weather and science in our YouTube playlist: