Timing of winter deep freeze brings stress to some, relief to others

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - The holiday season is a time of reunions. With bad weather approaching, Wednesday at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport was literally the calm before the storm.

“I can promise you I’m going to cry,” Crystal Howard of Whitesburg, Kentucky said as she watched the arrivals board, nervously counting her blessings.

Howard drove 4 1/2 hours to Louisville to be reunited with her son and daughter whom she hadn’t seen them in seven years. Had they chosen to fly later in the week, the reunion may not have been possible.

“They wouldn’t have made it,” Howard said. “We wouldn’t have made it because of the weather.”

Howard and countless other families have endured days of stress-filled forecasts, wondering if the approaching weather would wreck plans for a holiday together. Some may not be so lucky. Rebekka Behr was working on Wednesday to change her Friday night flight to Orlando.

“It’s been pretty difficult,” Behr said. “There’s been long wait times. I haven’t gone through to anyone yet to talk about whether or not I’m actually able to make that change.”

Behr worries she will miss seeing friends and the gender reveal for her new godchild. Until her flight is canceled by the airline, Behr said she can’t make new plans.

“I’m not able to cancel. They’re saying that it would be a huge fee if I change it in the next couple of days,” Behr said. “So I’m just waiting to see if I’ll be able to change it to get there before Christmas.”

But while some wait, Crystal Howard’s worries about a deep freeze of snow and ice melted away with the arrival of a Noon flight from Dallas. After embracing her adult children as they exited the secured area, Howard and her family embarked on a 4 1/2 hour journey by car to Whitesburg to celebrate a long overdue reunion.

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