AA often proactively cancels flights in advance of impending storms. In the AA view, they can get back to normal more quickly if the planes and crews are in locations clear of the storm. Otherwise, they run the risk of having a couple of planes and crews in Syracuse that can get in, but can't get out (crews can't get to/from hotel, don't have adequate rest, etc). That in turn, has ripple effects throughout the system. So, from the AA approach, once the Syracuse airport is back to business, they can start up flights from Chicago and are back in business so that within a day or two, operations are back to normal which makes it easier to take care of disrupted passengers.
Whether that works better than the UA/DL approach, I can't say. We only hear anecdotes from those with bad experiences. As a friend of mine trying to fly to JFK on Friday commented, why did they cancel my flight and not the one before or after mine? She's unhappy (but was rebooked) but those on the half the flights that went to JFK are happy.