ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Lambert International Airport and Chicago O'Hare International Airport led the nation for flight changes Wednesday as a powerful winter storm moved into the region.
According to FlightAware, a website that tracks data on flight cancellation and delays, St. Louis saw more than 150 flights affected totaling about 80% of the airport's overall traffic.
That was the highest percentage of any major U.S. airport.
O'Hare reported nearly twice the number of affected flights, though the total percentage was less than Lambert's.
Usually the center of so much activity, Lambert was shockingly quiet Wednesday with some ticket counters empty and abandoned.
Look up and you'll see why. There are few planes in the sky, replaced by a red "CANCELLED" repeated across the flight information boards.
Delta managed to keep some flights on track, including the Detroit leg for Svetlana Knyazhishche and her family. It's a layover on their way to Minsk, Belarus after their child was treated at Children's Hospital.
She says she was on alert for any potential delays.
"Yeah we were concerned," Knyazhishche said. "Yesterday and during the night, I checked my app to see if there were changes or being canceled. But everything seems to be good."
Travel is a concern across St. Louis with many opting to stay within walking distance.
"Some [customers] are like 'I'm surprised you're open,'" Kingside Diner's Jordan Ward said, replying 'yep, we are.'"
The Central West End restaurant was open Wednesday although they had several staff members who couldn't make it in.
"It's usually way busier than this," Ward said. "We usually have like five servers on, six servers on. Today we only have me and two other girls, so it's slower. A lot slower."
As Knyazhishche and her family prepare for boarding, Stevelana says they're headed to more of the same: a cold Belarus that's better prepared for this kind of winter weather.
"For us, it's like normal winter weather," she said.
Airlines have already begun canceling flights for Thursday, with another strong band of snow expected Wednesday evening and overnight.
You can check Lambert's flight status page on their website to see which arrivals and departures are delayed or canceled.