Travel and weather updates from across the state
Travel and weather updates from across the state all through the vacation weekend.
2 p.m. Saturday: Crash-related freeway closures clear
Highway closures from a number of collisions this morning have largely been cleared, ADOT stated Saturday afternoon.
Southbound lanes and one northbound lane are open on State Route 69 following a day crash.
All 1-17 lanes at the moment are open as nicely following a northbound crash.
1:30 p.m. Saturday: Calm and cool weather for Phoenix on Christmas Eve
Unlike a lot of the remainder of the United States that was battered by winter storms this vacation season, the weather in Arizona was calm and cool going into the vacation weekend.
The low at Sky Harbor this morning was 44 for the low this morning at Sky Harbor International, which the National Weather Service Phoenix stated is “right at the normal for today’s date.”
12:30 p.m. Saturday: ADOT experiences freeway closure on 1-17 Northbound
A crash on the 1-17 Northbound, simply south of Munds Park and close to milepost 312, has closed the freeway.
There isn’t any estimated time to reopen the freeway, the Arizona Department of Transportation stated Saturday afternoon.
11:30 a.m. Saturday: Unhealthy air high quality impacts delicate Phoenicians
Air high quality continues to be unhealthy for delicate teams in the Phoenix space this Christmas weekend.
The air high quality index was at 132 on Saturday which is taken into account unhealthy for delicate teams, together with youngsters, older adults, individuals with coronary heart or lung illness, and these struggling from bronchial asthma and bronchitis.
AirNow, an air high quality monitoring partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and different native and state companies, suggests these teams ought to select much less strenuous actions and shorten the period of time they’re lively outside.
11:00 a.m. Saturday: Phoenix tops record of airports with delayed flights
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport led the nation in the variety of canceled and delayed flights to and from native airports Saturday morning.
As of 11 a.m. Saturday, there have been 77 flight cancellations and 146 delays in and out of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, in keeping with the flight monitoring web site FlightConscious. Southwest had the most canceled flights Saturday – a complete of 37 – whereas Delta had 13.
9:00 a.m. Saturday: Where to see the greatest vacation lights round the Valley
You have a great deal of choices to see over-the-top gentle shows. Glendale Glitters is again in an enormous method after being scaled again in 2021. The lights at the Mesa Arizona Temple are again on after a five-year pause for temple renovations. Perennial favourite ZooLights at the Phoenix Zoo has numerous new points of interest this year. And if DIY viewing is extra your model, our vacation lights map will information you to the greatest, greatest choices round the Valley.
7:30 p.m.: ADOT experiences lane closures in Phoenix space
A car hearth is obstructing the proper lanes on Loop 101 northbound at Olive Avenue, in keeping with the Arizona Department of Transportation.
A crash is obstructing the left lanes of Interstate 10 at twenty seventh Avenue in Phoenix.
4 p.m.: Sky Harbor flight cancellations edge up barely
As of three:55 p.m. Friday, there have been 111 cancellations and 354 delays out of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, in keeping with the flight monitoring web site FlightConscious. Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines every had no less than 20 flights canceled.
2:40 p.m. Friday: Road closure roundup
If you are touring by highway this vacation weekend, here is a roundup of all highway closures:
Goodyear
- Road closure Interstate 10 eastbound close to Bullard Avenue (Milepost 128).
Glendale
- Exit ramp closed on-ramp from Interstate 17 southbound to West Thunderbird Road. Lane closed. This ramp shall be closed till May 26.
- SB I-17 off-ramp at Thunderbird Road closed for pipe set up work. Use Greenway and Cactus exits.
Florence (these roads will stay closed till March 31)
- Highway closed on State Route 79-BL southbound from State Route 287 eastbound (MP 133) to East Sunset Road (MP 133). Lane closed.
- Highway closed on-ramp from SR-287 eastbound to SR-79-BL southbound. Lane closed.
- Highway closed on SR-79-BL northbound from SR-287 eastbound (MP 133) to East Florence Heights Drive (MP 133). Lane closed.
Chandler (Tonto National Forest)
- Road closed on State Route 88 eastbound from NF-213 (MP 222) to NF-79 (MP 229).
- Road closed on SR 88 westbound from NF-79 (MP 229) to NF-213 (MP 222).
Tucson (prolonged highway closure for a number of weeks for highway repairs).
- Road closed on State Route 386 southbound from State Route 86 (1) to SR 86 (12).
- Road closed on SR 386 northbound from SR 86 (12) to SR 86 (1).
Fredonia (Kaibab Camper Village) (highway closure as a consequence of winter weather)
- State Route 67 southbound from NF-3189 (MP 580) to Kanabowits Lookout Tower Road (MP 610). Lane closed.
— From staff reports
1:30 p.m. Friday: Southwest, American lead Sky Harbor’s flight cancellations
Airlines are persevering with to cancel flights nationwide due to the winter storms, together with at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. As of 1 p.m. Friday, there have been 106 cancellations and 256 delays out of Sky Harbor, in keeping with the flight monitoring web site FlightConscious.
Southwest Airlines and American Airlines cancelled the most flights out of Sky Harbor’s airways on Friday. Southwest cancelled 42 flights and delayed one other 118, whereas American cancelled 29 and delayed one other 57, in keeping with FlightConscious.
12:45 p.m. Friday: No deliberate freeway closures over the vacation weekend, ADOT proclaims
The Arizona Department of Transportation has introduced that no freeway closures are scheduled alongside state highways over Christmas and New Year’s weekends.
According to ADOT, there aren’t any development closures deliberate between Friday afternoon and Monday morning over the vacation weekend.
However, ADOT says, “drivers can still expect heavier traffic due to holiday events and people taking road trips around the state.
The transportation department advises travelers to be prepared and “anticipate the sudden” whereas specializing in protected driving.
Travel time will most likely increase due to unscheduled restrictions such as broken-down cars, crashes, and possible unpleasant weather.
ADOT says to pack an emergency kit for longer trips just in case you encounter an unscheduled stop in traffic or need to pull over. Items to pack include:
- Extra bottled water
- Snacks
- Flashlight and extra batteries
- Blankets
- Warm clothing
- First aid kit
ADOT advises drivers to check their car before traveling, including tire pressure, engine belts and hoses, fluid levels and condition of windshield wipers.
ADOT says, “staying updated on probably altering weather circumstances alsi is necessary. ADOT gives further info on its Road Trip Safety website.
Travelers can verify on highway circumstances on ADOT’s 511 site.
Currently ADOT experiences just one freeway closed to winter weather, close to the Utah state line. ADOT experiences that State Route 67 southbound from milepost 580 to Kanabowits Lookout Tower Road is closed. This is the freeway that results in the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
12:05 p.m. Friday: High air pollution advisories are in impact this weekend
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality introduced excessive air pollution advisories are in impact for mud and smoke in Phoenix and Nogales till Monday.
The air high quality index is at 75 on Friday which is reasonable, however might be unhealthy for delicate teams, together with youngsters, older adults, individuals with coronary heart or lung illness, and these struggling from bronchial asthma and bronchitis.
The Maricopa County Air Quality Department has issued a no-burn day for Friday, which can be prolonged into the weekend.
11:00 a.m. Friday: Go ice skating outside this weekend
Outdoor ice skating rinks shall be open for the 2022 vacation season all through metro Phoenix. Some have actual ice and others are artificial, however all provide the probability for newbies, skilled skaters and everybody in between to take pleasure in a beloved cold-weather custom. If you need to give ice skating a strive, head to those pop-up rinks in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa and Glendale.
9:30 a.m. Friday: Flight cancellations piling up at metro Phoenix airports
At Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, 86 flights have been canceled and 117 have been delayed as of 9:15 a.m. Friday, in keeping with the flight tracking website FlightAware. That compares to 81 canceled and 493 delayed flights on Thursday.
Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in east Mesa had 16 cancellations and 5 delays as of 9:15 a.m. Friday, in comparison with 14 cancellations and 21 delays on Thursday, in keeping with FlightConscious.
As arctic air continues shifting across the nation, winter weather poses a hazard for many of the continental U.S. The weather is more likely to worsen earlier than it will get higher, in keeping with the National Weather Service.
If you have got the flexibility to alter your flight, take into account that as a substitute for taking your possibilities with the weather. American Airlines issued travel alerts for 87 airports permitting vacationers to make a one-time change to their journeys at no cost in the event that they’re scheduled to fly on sure days. Southwest Airlines has a travel advisory in effect for 50 airports by means of Dec. 26, permitting passengers to rebook flights for journey inside 14 days of their authentic reserving.
Together, American and Southwest are chargeable for greater than 70% of Sky Harbor’s flight capability.
8:00 a.m. Friday: Arizona vacation weekend weather shall be dry and cool
This Christmas, Arizona residents can anticipate calm and cool weather at house.
“Tranquil conditions and mostly sunny skies are expected this holiday weekend,” Meteorologist Jessica Leffel from the National Weather Service Phoenix said.
Leffel says temperatures were forecast to be above average, reaching the upper 60s to near 70 degrees in the Phoenix area.
Flagstaff residents can expect mainly dry and warmer weather leading into the holiday weekend.
The Phoenix NWS office reported that “high temperatures will remain in the 40s for locations along and north of the Mogollon Rim, with 60s expected in low deserts of Yavapai and Gila counties.”
The weather service also reported that Tucson would be having a dry holiday weekend with temperatures gradually warming to above-normal levels.
Leffel says, “There are no ground travel concerns in the region through this weekend. However, a significant artic weather system across the eastern half of the U.S. is greatly impacting air travel across the country expected to continue influencing travel through the weekend.”
— Ayana Hamilton
6:15 a.m. Friday: I-10 closes, then reopens due to police activity in Goodyear
According to the Arizona Department of Transportation, around 5:22 a.m. Interstate 10 was closed in both directions in Goodyear.
ADOT says the closure was due to police activity. Eastbound was closed at Bullard Avenue and westbound was closed at Litchfield Road.
The freeway has since reopened in both directions.
— From staff reports
9:10 p.m. Thursday: Not just outbound flights — inbound flights also delayed
Of the 164 flights into Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, 131 were delayed and 33 were canceled as of 7 p.m. Thursday.
Not one arrived on time.
Chicago and Denver chalked up the most canceled flights with seven each. Six more were canceled from California — four from the San Francisco Bay Area and two from Orange County.
Flights from Omaha, Nebraska, and Long Beach, California, were delayed by an average of more than three hours, while flights from New York, Dallas, Memphis, San Francisco, Oklahoma City and Calgary were all delayed for an average of more than two hours.
— From staff reports
6:55 p.m. Thursday: Inflation putting damper on last-minute shopping
Last year, Lucila Gomez and her husband started their holiday shopping around Thanksgiving and wrapped it up a week before Christmas, spending $750 on tablets and clothing for their three children and relatives.
This year? Gomez is waiting until she gets her annual bonus on Friday to get started — and she’s limiting her spending to $200, sticking to World Cup themed jerseys for her 10-year-old twins and a 6-year-old.
“Last year, we were confident. We were like, ‘Get them whatever they want,’” said the 49-year-old Buckeye resident, an hourly worker in the billing department of a health company. “This year, we’re waiting until we both get paid. We want to go into the New Year not owing anything.”
Last-minute holiday shoppers are back in force — and inflation is partly to blame.
For the first two years of the pandemic, many were buying earlier in the season, afraid of not getting what they wanted because of shortages of products or delays in deliveries. They also had more money to spend thanks to government stimulus checks and child care credits.
But this year, supply chain snags have eased and buyers aren’t as frightened about availability as they’re about increased costs on every part from hire to meals, inflicting them to postpone their shopping for till the final minute.
Gomez, for instance, said that even though she and her husband, an electrician, each got a raise, it still wasn’t enough to offset their rising expenses. In fact, she said her family moved in with her parents after their monthly rent jumped from $1,500 to $2,000 earlier this year. She’d hoped to save for a house, but mortgage rates keep going up.
Last-minute shopping is also being encouraged by a quirk in this year’s calendar, according to Brian Field, global leader of Sensormatic Solutions, which tracks store traffic. With Christmas falling on Sunday, consumers have all week to shop.
Retailers are relying on the last-minute spending rush to help meet their holiday sales goals after a weaker-than-expected November.
Americans cut back sharply on retail spending last month as the holiday shopping season began with high prices and rising interest rates taking their toll on households, particularly lower-income families.
Retail sales fell 0.6% from October to November after a sharp 1.3% rise the earlier month, the authorities stated final week. Sales fell at furnishings, electronics, and house and backyard shops.
Overall holiday sales should be decent, though holiday sales growth is expected to dramatically slow down from a year ago.
The National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, is slated to release the actual results for the combined November and December period next month. The group expects holiday sales growth will slow to a range of 6% to 8%, compared with the blistering 13.5% growth of a year ago.
— From The Associated Press
6:15 p.m. Thursday: Airplanes getting backed up across the country
Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport was already issuing travel delay warnings at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Low visibility was causing average delays of 33 minutes into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and 1 hour and 21 minutes into Newark International Airport in New Jersey.
High winds were causing delays of more than 2 hours at JFK International Airport in New York, while ice and snow were backing up air travel for 2 hours and 39 minutes at Chicago O’Hare.
— From staff reports
6 p.m. Thursday: Balmy weather in Arizona
While much of the rest of the nation faces plunging temperatures and snowy conditions this holiday weekend, the Phoenix area and much of Arizona will be largely spared, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service.
High temperatures in the upper 60s to mid 70s will be common from the weekend into early next week, the National Weather Service says. But travelers heading to eastern Arizona “ought to be ready for dangerously chilly circumstances.”
Flights in and out of space airports can even be impacted by the huge storm.
More than 2,156 flights within, into or out of the U.S. had been canceled as of Thursday afternoon, according to the tracking site FlightAware. Airlines have also canceled 1,576 Friday flights. Airports in Chicago and Denver were reporting the most cancelations.
The difference in temperatures between Phoenix and Denver should peak between 65 and 70 degrees F late Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. As of 6 p.m., it was 61 degrees in Phoenix and -1 in Denver.
In Flagstaff, it was 42 degrees F.
— From workers experiences
