89 post offices closed as massive winter storm disrupts last-minute holiday deliveries
By Chris Isidore, CNN
If you’re hoping that your last-minute Christmas gift will arrive on time, you may be out of luck.
Amazon, the US Postal Service, UPS and FedEx are all warning that the winter storm hitting large swaths of the United States is disrupting operations in the final delivery days before Christmas.
“FedEx Express experienced substantial disruptions at our Memphis and Indianapolis hubs last night due to severe winter weather that has been moving across the United States,” the company said in a statement Friday morning. “FedEx is committed to provide service to the best of our ability.”
FedEx told US customers that packages expected to be delivered Friday or Saturday could be delayed. UPS said its delays may be somewhat more localized.
“Significant weather events across several regions of the U.S. are impacting the UPS Air and Ground network, including UPS hubs in Louisville, Kentucky and Rockford, Illinois,” said UPS. “As a result, some delivery and pickup services in these areas will be affected.”
The US Postal Service said that 89 post offices have been temporarily closed by the storm, with 53 in South Dakota, 20 in North Dakota, as well as six in Nebraska and five each in Minnesota and Iowa. It did ask that customers clear snow and ice from sidewalks, stairs, and mailboxes in order to help letter carrier make deliveries.
Amazon also said it is closing some facilities due to the storm. It said employees at the facilities would be paid for the canceled shifts.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we’ve temporarily closed some of our sites in the impacted areas,” said Amazon spokesperson Barbara Agrait. “We’ll continue monitoring weather patterns and will reopen sites and resume operations when it’s safe to do so.”
The storm has also impacted passenger flight and other forms of transportation in the busy week for holiday travel. Tracking service FlightAware showed more than 3,000 passenger flights to, from or within the United State scheduled for Friday had already been canceled before 8 am ET.
The-CNN-Wire
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