Air and Ground


   We're captivated by the sky our entire lives, not to mention the unpredictable nature of weather. Today, we'll explore the impact of weather on aviation, a topic that affects the people on the ground and those flying. A recent real-life event has piqued my interest and sparked a sense of curiosity.




    In January 2024, an arctic blast caused carriers to cancel nearly 2,700 flights into and out of the U.S. and delayed roughly 7,000 others, according to data from FlightAware shows. The arctic blast caused more than 16,000 delays over a single weekend.


    While this weather event clearly shows a tremendous impact on the act of flying, there just as many if not more affect on the ground operations. There were 142 million people in the U.S. under a wind chill alert, while 100 million had received winter weather alerts, according to CBS climate producer David Parkinson. 


I chose this event because it clearly shows far reach weather can impact aviation. This event was not a typical hurricane which causes strong winds and visibility issues amongst a host of other problems, this event was mostly a simple matter of temperature. 


In conclusion, weather can be detrimental to aviation and comes in many different colors. 




References

Napolitano, E (2024). Airlines scrap thousands of flights as wintry weather disrupts travel. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/flight-cancellations-airport-winter-weather/



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