comment: >
  
  Some years ago I was trapped in Chicago for a few days when the airlines were all mass-cancelling flights. I remember for two days leaving the hotel, going to O'Hare and sitting and waiting for thousands of others to see if our plane would leave that day. They just had people wait for 12+ hours waiting just in case. Then they sent us back to our hotels. At least they were then still paying for the hotels and meals because of the delays, but they do that less now a days.
  Finally, United found a seat for me on an American trip to a city about 50 miles from my original destination. I took a cab ride from one city to another... it was the weirdest travel experience I ever had.
context: I have a friend who's flying in on the 27th (tomorrow). We thought she would be fine because the storm would have passed by then, but it seems the cascading effects of all the delays might ruin that flight, too.