Journey and climate updates from throughout the state all through the vacation weekend.
9:10 p.m. Thursday: Not simply outbound flights — inbound flights additionally delayed
Of the 164 flights into Phoenix Sky Harbor Worldwide Airport, 131 had been delayed and 33 had been canceled as of seven p.m. Thursday.
Not one arrived on time.
Chicago and Denver chalked up probably the most canceled flights with seven every. Six extra had been canceled from California — 4 from the San Francisco Bay Space and two from Orange County.
Flights from Omaha, Nebraska, and Lengthy Seashore, California, had been delayed by a median of greater than three hours, whereas flights from New York, Dallas, Memphis, San Francisco, Oklahoma Metropolis and Calgary had been all delayed for a median of greater than two hours.
— From employees experiences
6:55 p.m. Thursday: Inflation placing damper on last-minute buying
Final yr, Lucila Gomez and her husband began their vacation buying round Thanksgiving and wrapped it up every week earlier than Christmas, spending $750 on tablets and clothes for his or her three youngsters and family.
This yr? Gomez is ready till she will get her annual bonus on Friday to get began — and she or he’s limiting her spending to $200, sticking to World Cup themed jerseys for her 10-year-old twins and a 6-year-old.
“Final yr, we had been assured. We had been like, ‘Get them no matter they need,’” mentioned the 49-year-old Buckeye resident, an hourly employee within the billing division of a well being firm. “This yr, we’re ready till we each receives a commission. We need to go into the New 12 months not owing something.”
Final-minute vacation consumers are again in pressure — and inflation is partly accountable.
For the primary two years of the pandemic, many had been shopping for earlier within the season, afraid of not getting what they needed due to shortages of merchandise or delays in deliveries. In addition they had more cash to spend due to authorities stimulus checks and baby care credit.
However this yr, supply chain snags have eased and consumers aren’t as fearful about availability as they’re about greater costs on all the pieces from hire to meals, inflicting them to postpone their shopping for till the final minute.
Gomez, as an illustration, mentioned that though she and her husband, an electrician, every acquired a elevate, it nonetheless wasn’t sufficient to offset their rising bills. In actual fact, she mentioned her household moved in together with her dad and mom after their month-to-month hire jumped from $1,500 to $2,000 earlier this yr. She’d hoped to avoid wasting for a home, however mortgage charges preserve going up.
Final-minute buying can also be being inspired by a quirk on this yr’s calendar, in line with Brian Area, international chief of Sensormatic Options, which tracks retailer visitors. With Christmas falling on Sunday, customers have all week to buy.
Retailers are counting on the last-minute spending rush to assist meet their vacation gross sales objectives after a weaker-than-expected November.
Individuals in the reduction of sharply on retail spending final month as the vacation buying season started with excessive costs and rising rates of interest taking their toll on households, notably lower-income households.
Retail sales fell 0.6% from October to November after a sharp 1.3% rise the earlier month, the federal government mentioned final week. Gross sales fell at furnishings, electronics, and residential and backyard shops.
Total vacation gross sales ought to be respectable, although vacation gross sales progress is anticipated to dramatically decelerate from a yr in the past.
The Nationwide Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail commerce group, is slated to launch the precise outcomes for the mixed November and December interval subsequent month. The group expects vacation gross sales progress will sluggish to a variety of 6% to eight%, in contrast with the blistering 13.5% progress of a yr in the past.
— From The Related Press
6:15 p.m. Thursday: Airplanes getting backed up throughout the nation
Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport was already issuing journey delay warnings at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Low visibility was inflicting common delays of 33 minutes into Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport and 1 hour and 21 minutes into Newark Worldwide Airport in New Jersey.
Excessive winds had been inflicting delays of greater than 2 hours at JFK Worldwide Airport in New York, whereas ice and snow had been backing up air journey for two hours and 39 minutes at Chicago O’Hare.
— From employees experiences
6 p.m. Thursday: Balmy climate in Arizona
Whereas a lot of the remainder of the nation faces plunging temperatures and snowy situations this vacation weekend, the Phoenix space and far of Arizona shall be largely spared, in line with forecasts from the Nationwide Climate Service.
Excessive temperatures within the higher 60s to mid 70s shall be frequent from the weekend into early subsequent week, the Nationwide Climate Service says. However vacationers heading to japanese Arizona “ought to be ready for dangerously chilly situations.”
Flights out and in of space airports will even be impacted by the huge storm.
Greater than 2,156 flights inside, into or out of the U.S. had been canceled as of Thursday afternoon, in line with the monitoring website FlightAware. Airways have additionally canceled 1,576 Friday flights. Airports in Chicago and Denver had been reporting probably the most cancelations.
The distinction in temperatures between Phoenix and Denver ought to peak between 65 and 70 levels F late Thursday, in line with the Nationwide Climate Service. As of 6 p.m., it was 61 levels in Phoenix and -1 in Denver.
In Flagstaff, it was 42 levels F.
— From employees experiences
