Leaving Beaufort Co. for the holidays? Winter weather could affect your flight plans

It’s already chaotic enough to deal with lines at the airport during the holiday season, but incoming Winter Storm Elliott, which is set to rattle the United States, could make travel even more complicated.

An intense storm is posed to bring wind, rain and snow across large portions of the United States throughout this week and into the holiday weekend for the Midwest, Central Appalachians, eastern Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

Below-freezing temperatures are anticipated later in the week for the central and eastern U.S., including in the Lowcountry. And already, the threat of winter weather has triggered travel advisories for three well-known airlines.

While Hilton Head Island and Savannah — where the two nearest airports are located — are not expected to get snow, predicted wintry weather could still have an impact on flights, particularly those scheduled to arrive and depart this week from airports located in the Midwest, Northeast and Rocky Mountains.

Locally, on Friday, temperatures are supposed to plummet to below-freezing and will be met with potentially strong wind gusts. Bitter-cold temperatures will continue through Christmas Day. Strong westerly to northwesterly winds blowing into South Carolina could cause flight delays, said Frank Strait, severe weather liaison for the state’s department of natural resources

However, winter weather in other parts of the U.S. could cause even greater issues.

On Tuesday afternoon, Southwest Airlines issued a travel advisory for Winter Storm Elliott that begins Tuesday and lasts through Monday. The alert listed 50 airports, many in the Midwest, central region, northeast and Rocky Mountain area, that could see disruptions in flight service.

“Our scheduled service may be disrupted (flights may be delayed, diverted, and/or canceled),” the airline posted.

American Airlines posted a similar missive without a range of dates, noting winter weather in Northeastern and Midwestern U.S. could upend travel into and out of dozens of airports.

Between Dec. 18 and Tuesday, Delta Airlines sent out three weather-related travel advisories, with the potential to affect airports in the Pacific Northwest, the Northwest mountain region, the Atlantic region and the Northeast. The airlines’ advisories let up Sunday — Christmas Day.

Each airline lays out different options if flights are delayed, diverted or canceled, and all say to frequently check flight status information to get updates. They also suggest downloading a phone app for alerts.