i checked my phone and i looked on my phone and it just said flight canceled. reporter: the rapid spread of the omicron variant debilitating airlines and airports. how long should folks expect these cancellations? i don t think there is any reason to think that these cancellations are going to stop before the holiday travel period ends. reporter: the number of tsa agents out tripled in the last week. now more than 1,700 off the job with covid. and the faa today in a statement saying traffic volume at some facilities could be reduced, noting an increase in the number of its employees testing positive all this as a massive winter storm system sweeps across the country. snow and sleet making its way to the midwest overnight, expected to barrel down on key airport hubs from denver to dallas and chicago. look, expect the worst but hope for the best you will likely find delays you will likely have your flight canceled. reporter: a rocky start to the new year
coast to coast. and it comes right after the thanksgiving holiday with some of the busiest travel days of the year. in buffalo, new york, the weather caused a plane to slide off the runway. more than 900 flights have been canceled nationwide, and nearly 8,000 have been delayed. places like south dakota have seen blizzard-like conditions. nearly 50 million people across the country are under some kind of weather alert. on the west coast, the california mountains are getting heavy snow, and it s more rain and strong winds for the lower elevations. so let s turn to our meteorologist pedram javaheri, who has been watching all of this very closely. people want to know when things are going to start to improve. we ve got to wait until tuesday morning unfortunately, rosemary. of course that is when the airline industry considers that the period, the holiday travel period ends is tuesday morning. so this is when the storm system we expect finally moving offshore and away from the eastern uni