Flying into or out of Savannah Hilton Head Airport today? Here’s the latest

Runways at the Savannah Hilton Head International Airport reopened around 2:30 p.m. Thursday, airport officials announced on Twitter.

Operations resumed after shutting down early Wednesday morning before the snow began.

Though temperatures are expected to drop Thursday evening, officials do not anticipate ice-related delays, but are encouraging passengers to check with their airline carriers for flight information and to confirm reservations.

As the storm moves up the East Coast, many flights to the Northeast may be canceled.

Officials also recommend planning for additional travel time to the airport, which is located near Interstate 95, because the highway has been severely congested since Wednesday afternoon. Multiple drivers have described traveling only a handful of miles over several hours.

Only four flights went out Wednesday before both runways closed because of harsh winter weather conditions, affecting about 4,500 passengers and canceling 78 inbound and outbound flights.

The airport received 1.2 inches of snow Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Charleston, which was the seventh-highest snowfall on record for the airport.

Airport maintenance lack equipment to clear runways of snow and ice because winter weather is so rare in Savannah, airport marketing director Lori Lynah said. The airport is at the mercy of the weather and the sunshine to clear the runways.

To find out more answers to storm-related questions, click here.

This story was originally published January 4, 2018 at 9:05 AM with the headline "Flying into or out of Savannah Hilton Head Airport today? Here’s the latest."