Travel halted as major snowstorm whips U.S. East Coast

Travel halted as major snowstorm whips U.S. East Coast

A strong snowstorm barrelled through the U.S. East Coast on Sunday, severely hampering all kinds of travel that left thousands stranded in airport terminals, train and bus depots, roads and highways. The heavy snowfall will likely dampen holiday shopping in the area in the next two days as more snow is forecast to fall. New Jersey and New York could experience 12 to 20 inches of snowfall by Monday. Brooklyn already had 18 inches of snow by late Sunday. Blizzard warnings were issued for New York City and Boston by the National Weather Service and gustiness of up to 60 mph (96 kph) is anticipated. About 20 inches of snow is expected in Philadelphia and the Eagles-Vikings football game had been rescheduled. Later in the day, the forecast was downgraded to about a foot of snow.

New York City's three airports  cancelled 1,400 flights on Sunday and flights might return to normal on Tuesday the earliest. Many passengers were stranded in terminals, unable to get into their flights but also were hesitant of driving back home because of the dangerous road conditions. Baltimore, Chicago, Washington, North and South Carolina airports also cancelled thousands of flights. Amtrak's train services in Virginia and the route from New York to Maine was suspended. Long Island Rail Road in New York also stopped its operations. Buses servicing the East Coast likewise halted their trips. The National Weather Service also issued blizzard warnings for Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts. States of emergency were declared in New Jersey, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.

Posted by Sophia Andrews on Monday December 27 2010, 2:29 AM EST. Ref: AP. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Travel. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0