Winter Storm Is Causing USPS Closures and Disruptions Across the United States – Update 12/20/2022
A major winter storm is causing widespread closures of USPS postal facilities across the nation and creating dangerous travel and transportation conditions, affecting logistics operations.
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For online commerce, this winter storm represents a significant problem during one of the busiest times of the year, with many holiday season shipping deadlines this week and early next week.
Here is what we know about how this winter storm has affected USPS operations thus far.
The list below are retail Post Office facility closures, but they also affect pickups and deliveries since those functions usually operate out of post offices.
In addition, widespread temporary closures create mail backlogs at regional USPS distribution centers as mail and packages cannot move onward. Delivery delays in states where this winter storm has caused closures are likey, even if other post offices in those states are open.
USPS Facility Closures Due to Winter Storm
Minnesota
All previously closed offices in MN have resumed operations.
Nebraska
All previously closed offices in NE have resumed operations.
North Dakota
All previously closed offices in ND have resumed operations.
South Dakota
All previously closed offices in SD have resumed operations.
Wisconsin
All other previously closed offices in WI have resumed operations, including the last ones below.
Merrillan, 54754Weyerhaeuser, 54895Whithee, 54498
There isn’t a lot online merchants or marketplace sellers can do now if a shipment is en route already.
If a buyer requests an update on their shipment, the best suggestion is to inform them that there are backlogs of packages in the USPS network due to this winter storm, and it will take some time for the Post Office to catch up. Keep checking tracking, but just because there is no movement for days doesn’t mean the item is lost. That is very normal.
If you sell on eBay or other marketplaces, they will likely offer seller protections due to late deliveries caused by this winter storm. We will monitor eBay and Etsy if such protections are announced.
Please check our USPS domestic disruptions post with more information about US Postal Service network and delivery issues across the United States.
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Richard Meldner
Richard is co-founder of eSeller365. He has over 17 years of experience on eBay which includes tens of thousands of sales to buyers in over 100 countries and even has experience with eBay’s VeRO program enforcing intellectual property rights for a former employer. And for about two years Richard sold products on Amazon using Amazon FBA in the US.
To “relax” from the daily business grind, for a few weekends a year, he also works for IMSA as a professional race official.