Don’t trust the weather, and don’t trust the Web. Call the airline.
Even though the sun is shining in the Triangle, dozens of flights have been canceled today because of a blizzard covering the northeastern states.
“We do recommend whenever there is a major storm that you call your airline or go to the airline website” for an update on the status of your flight, said Mindy Hamlin, spokeswoman for Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
Airlines have canceled most or all flights in and out of northeastern airports in New York, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and other cities, Hamlin said.
But travelers will get a false picture today if they rely on flight-status websites maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration and air travel groups.
The FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center website reported delays this afternoon at only one airport in the nation – San Francisco. Every airport in the northeast was marked on an FAA map with a green-light symbol – indicating no delays or cancellations.
RDU’s home page is linked to a travel industry flight-status website that lists every scheduled flight . The site mentions a handful of RDU cancellations but incorrectly says the airlines have “No Delays Posted” for most flights between RDU and snow-struck airports in the Northeast and Midwest.
Hamlin confirmed that the information on both websites was incorrect today. She said she found similar problems during severe weather earlier this winter.
Here are links to weather advisories posted today by these airlines:
Bruce Siceloff reports on traffic and transportation. A News & Observer reporter and editor since 1976, he took over the 
