Airlines Already Canceling Flights Due to Massive Winter Storm Expected to Hit East Coast

The Northeast is expected to get walloped by a winter storm this weekend — a prediction that has already started disrupting travel throughout the region and is

The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for New York City and much of the surrounding area as well as blizzard warnings for the Boston area.

So far on Friday, more than 100 flights heading to LaGuardia Airport in New York had been canceled, according to FlightAware. Additionally, another 84 flights heading to Boston Logan International Airport were canceled along with more than 50 flights each heading to both Newark Liberty International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport.

For Saturday, more than 230 flights scheduled to take off from Boston have been canceled along with 125 flights originally expected to take off from LaGuardia, 113 flights scheduled to leave Newark, and 111 flights scheduled to leave JFK.

Several airlines have already issued travel waivers ahead of the storm, including Delta Air Lines, which is waiving the fare difference from Jan. 28 to Jan. 29. Additionally, American Airlines, United Airlines, JetBlue, Alaska Airlines, Southwest, and Spirit Airlines have all issued similar waivers for travel to and from the East Coast.

In total, Boston could see 18 to more than 24 inches of snow from Saturday into early Sunday, the NWS tweeted. Wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph are also a threat, with possible gusts rising to 70 mph along coastal Massachusetts.

In New York City, snow accumulation could reach 5 to 10 inches with up to 1 inch falling every hour possible. And on Long Island, snow accumulation of 10 to 16 inches is forecast, according to the NWS.

"A strong storm system will bring moderate to heavy snowfall and strong winds to much of the area tonight through Saturday," the NWS in New York wrote in an advisory on Friday morning.

Low pressure will allow the winter storm to become a "bomb cyclone," according to The Weather Channel, a term used to describe a "low-pressure system associated with fronts with a central pressure that plunges at least 24 millibars in 24 hours or less."

Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. When she's not in New York City, she likes to spend her time at the beach or exploring new destinations and hopes to visit every country in the world. Follow her adventures on Instagram.