5 Things: The US is under watch for severe storms in the Southeast 2:22
New York (CNN) --
Bad weather caused the cancellation of hundreds of flights on Wednesday in the United States.
And Southwest Airlines, once again, was hit particularly hard.
At 10:30 am (Miami time) the total number of cancellations was 482 flights to, from or within the United States.
About half, 235, were Southwest flights.
One of the main reasons is a winter storm hitting the Midwest and heading northeast.
Southwest has a strong presence in many of the affected cities, including Chicago, Indianapolis and Cleveland, and the airports in those cities are among those with the most canceled flights.
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There was also bad weather in the South, including tornadoes on Tuesday in Texas and Louisiana, but relatively few flights were canceled at southern airports.
It's a nightmare for both affected travelers and Southwest, but it's nowhere near the scale of the problem the airline suffered during the December holiday period.
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The 235 Southwest flights canceled this Wednesday represent only about 6% of the airline's schedule.
The collapse of service over the holidays forced Southwest to cancel roughly half — more than 16,700 — of its scheduled flights between December 21 and 29.
During some of the days of that period, the airline was forced to cancel almost three quarters of its flights.
Southwest's outdated crew scheduling system made the problem worse, leaving the airline with the staff it needed to handle the flights.
What should I do if my flight is canceled or delayed?
Another bonus for affected travelers this Wednesday: January, by contrast, is one of the slowest travel periods of the year in the United States.
Holiday cancellations, by contrast, occurred when planes were full and it became very difficult to rebook passengers.
Southwest, which reports fourth-quarter financial results on Thursday, has already announced that the December crash cost it between $725 million and $825 million and will cost it a full-year loss of profit.
AirlinesSouthwest Airlineswinter stormflights canceled