SoCal airports see canceled flights as major winter storm targets much of US

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Southern California is seeing pleasant weekend weather, but much of the rest of the U.S. is in the grip of frigid conditions with snowy weather continuing to cause flight delays and cancellations with ripple effects reaching the Southland's local airports.

As of 4:45 a.m. Sunday, at least 176 arriving and departing flights were cancelled at Los Angeles International Airport, five at Hollywood Burbank Airport, 16 at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, 8 at Ontario International Airport and four at Long Beach Airport.

More than 13,500 flights have been canceled across the U.S. since Saturday, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.

About 9,600 of those were scheduled for Sunday. Aviation analytics company Cirium says its data shows that Sunday will be the highest cancellation event since the pandemic, with over 29% of all U.S. departing flights axed.

Almost 10,000 flights across the U.S. set to take off over the weekend have been canceled as a major storm expected to wreak havoc across much of the country threatens to knock out power for days and snarl major roadways.

Dallas Forth Worth International Airport continues to see major impacts followed by Charlotte Douglas and Nashville airports.

At least 18 states have declared a state of emergency as the storm nears: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Washington, D.C., has also declared a state of emergency.

Travelers were being advised to check with airlines before heading to the airport for an outbound flight or when expecting an arrival.

ABC News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.