Northeast U.S. Snowstorm Delays Hundreds of Flights

Airlines canceled hundreds of flights across the northeastern U.S. today as a late winter storm packing gusts of 40 mph (64 kph) dumped 6 to 12 inches of snow from Washington to Boston.

An additional 2 inches (5 centimeters) may fall in the New York area as the storm diminishes through the rest of the day. The winds added to the delays of as long as an hour for flights still scheduled for takeoff, and commuter rail lines into New York City were delayed up to a half-hour.

“The event is winding down,” said David Wally, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Upton, New York. “From here on out, it’s the strong northwest winds on the backside of the storm and blowing and drifting that is the problem.”

New York had received as much as 10 inches of snow by midday, while Long Island and the southern Connecticut coast had as much as 12 inches, Wally said. Wind gusts as high as 35 mph were being reported at New York’s airports.

Temperatures below freezing in the region mean the snow “is going to linger for a while” on the ground and roads, making travel difficult, said Tom Kines, a meteorologist with Accuweather.com in State College, Pennsylvania.

Flights Canceled

Newark Liberty International Airport canceled about 350 flights, and Boston’s Logan International Airport halted 120, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Hank Price said in an interview. New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport reported more than 115 flights grounded, and more than 450 flights were canceled at LaGuardia, said Ron Marsico, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.

“The runways are clear and the taxiways are clear,” Marsico said. “The weather conditions are making it more difficult to get in and out of the airport.”

The snow tangled ground transportation as well, with commuter rail and mass transit systems from Washington to Boston reporting delays.

The Long Island, Metro-North and New Jersey Transit railroads were running as much as 30 minutes behind schedule, as were the Maryland Transit Administration’s MARC rail service and Boston’s Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority. Philadelphia’s Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority reported delays of as much as 25 minutes.

Baltimore Gas and Electric, a subsidiary of Constellation Energy Company, has restored power to 20,000 customers since the storm began, according to its Web site. An additional 4,300 are still out.

‘Been Lucky’

NStar reported scattered power failures in Massachusetts, “no more than you would expect on any other day,” said spokesman Michael Durand. “We’ve been lucky.”

Gary Conte, another weather service meteorologist in Upton, called it “a good, old-fashioned snowstorm.” The one-day record for a snowfall in March in Manhattan is 10 inches, set in 1896, he said.

“Obviously, based on our forecast, that is in jeopardy. March is coming in like a lion,” he said.

This was the first real “nor’easter” of the season, said Alan Dunham, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts.

“Despite all the snow we have had this year, we have done it without many of these types of storms,” Dunham said.

More for Boston

While the snow tapered off in Boston, an additional band is expected to bring at least another inch to the city by tonight, he said. The central part of Massachusetts may see as much as 4 more inches.

The storm has also brought a few additional inches of snow to ski areas in Maine and New Hampshire, said Michael Cempa, meteorologist with the weather service in Gray, Maine. The heaviest snow, as much as 10 inches, is falling along the coast in Portland, he said.