Road, air and rail travel chaos as whiteout sweeps east of US

Published on Sunday 26 December 2010 14:36

A BAND of frigid weather was making its way up the United States' east coast last night, promising blizzards and a foot of snow to New York City and New England, while several states to the south made emergency declarations as the storm caused crashes on slick roads.

• The shuttle Pathfinder, on display at the US Space and Rocket Centre at Huntsville, Alabama, sees an unaccustomed snowfall on the Yellowhammer statePicture: AP

Airlines grounded hundreds of flights yesterday along the north-east corridor in anticipation of the storm, affecting major airports including the New York area's John F Kennedy and Newark in neighbouring New Jersey. Airlines said more cancellations were likely as the storm progressed. Travel misery began a day earlier in parts of the south, where a rare white Christmas came with reports of dozens of car crashes.

In Washington, DC, transportation officials treated roads and readied 200 salt trucks, ploughs and other pieces of equipment to fight the 6in (15cm) or more expected to fall in the mid- Atlantic region.

The northeast was expected to bare the brunt of the storm. Forecasters issued a blizzard warning for New York City for last night and today, with a forecast of 11in to 16in of snow and strong winds that will reduce visibility to near zero at times.

A blizzard warning was also in effect for Rhode Island and most of eastern Massachusetts including Boston, with forecasters predicting 15in to 20in of snow. A blizzard warning is issued when snow is accompanied by sustained winds or gusts of more than 35mph.

As much as 18 inches could fall on the New Jersey shore, with wind gusts in excess of 40mph.

Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter declared a snow emergency yesterday, and he urged residents to stay off the roads.

Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina also declared states of emergency. Amtrak cancelled passenger trains in Virginia.

Major airlines were cancelling flights in the storm's path yesterday. Continental Airlines cancelled 250 departures from Newark. United Airlines cancelled dozens of departures yesterday from Newark, Philadelphia, New York's LaGuardia and JFK, Boston and other airports.

AirTran and Southwest Airlines also cancelled flights, mostly in or out of Washington Dulles, Baltimore in Maryland, and Newark.

Delta Air Lines spokesman Kent Landers said the airline cancelled 850 mainline and regional flights systemwide yesterday.

"Most cancellations are concentrated from the Carolinas through New York," he said.More than 800 flights had been cancelled as of yesterday morning at LaGuardia, John F Kennedy and Newark, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said.

Storm warnings stretched from Georgia through the northeastern New England states.

The white Christmas in the south was one for the record books. Columbia, South Carolina, had its first significant Christmas snow since weather records began in 1887. Atlanta had just over an inch of snow - the first measurable accumulation on Christmas Day since the 1880s.

Alabama state troopers said a man was killed on Christmas Day when the pick-up truck he was driving collided with another vehicle on a snowy patch of a highway.