US storm causes thousands of flight cancellations and delays.

Over 3,000 flights were canceled on Friday, and thousands more were delayed due to a severe storm in the southern United States, according to airlines and flight-tracking website FlightAware.

Delta Airlines reported that a “worse-than-expected mix of winter weather” forced the closure of all five runways at Atlanta International Airport for over two hours. The airline canceled approximately 1,100 flights across its network on Friday and stated it was working to restore operations by Saturday.

A Delta Boeing 757-300 also experienced an engine issue during takeoff at Atlanta, requiring more than 200 passengers and crew to evacuate via emergency slides, as reported by U.S. media.

The storm also disrupted operations at Dallas Fort Worth Airport in Texas and Charlotte Douglas Airport in North Carolina, with over 1,200 flights canceled at the two locations combined. In total, FlightAware recorded more than 3,000 flight cancellations nationwide on Friday.

Earlier in the week, a winter storm had swept across the central and eastern United States, resulting in at least five fatalities, hundreds of flight cancellations, plummeting temperatures below -18°C (0°F) in some areas, and power outages affecting tens of thousands of residents.