Blizzards bring travel chaos across eastern US

MILLIONS of Christmas travellers were caught in the wintry grip of a massive blizzard yesterday that brought chaos to air, road and train transit across the eastern United States.

Just as passengers trapped by freezing weather in Europe began returning home as flights resumed normal service on Christmas Day, it was the turn of US travellers to face relentless snow, dangerous winds and unforgiving cold.

The inclement weather could not come at a worse time for millions of Americans who travel to see family or take holiday getaways during the Christmas week.

It was also compounding the misery for some flyers in Europe, where carriers, including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, cancelled several US-bound flights on Sunday and were bracing passengers for further disruption yesterday.

The US railway service Amtrak said it was halting service between New York and Boston, and in the process stranded thousands of travellers during one of the heaviest travel seasons of the year.

“Due to the blizzard conditions affecting a good portion of the east coast, and presently affecting the New York and New England areas, Amtrak has cancelled between Boston and New York tonight, December 26th, with no alternate transportation,” the rail carrier said.

The storm also caused about 2,000 flight cancellations, compounding the national travel chaos.

After record snowfalls last year, Washington and environs appeared likely to escape the worst weather this time around, with just a trace of snowfall.

But blizzard warnings were issued from coastal New England to New York City, where the massive storm was expected to dump as much as 20 inches (50 centimetres) of snow, accompanied by powerful wind gusts.

All New York area airports, including JFK International and Newark, shut down late Sunday as the driving snow reduced visibility and blanketed the runways.

Boston, Massachusetts was forecast to receive up to 22 inches (55 centimeters) of snow by Monday, with wind gusts as high as 72km/h.

Nearly 60,000 Massachusetts residents were left without power late on Sunday after the storm plowed across the northeastern state, The Boston Globe reported.

State Governor Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency, warning the storm was “expected to produce widespread heavy snowfall, periods of zero visibility, high winds, power outages, coastal flooding, and beach erosion.”

Heavy snow forced the National Football League to postpone an American football game for the second time in three weeks — this time for the Vikings-Eagles face-off in Philadelphia.

The inflatable roof of the Minnesota Vikings’ Metrodome collapsed during the last major storm earlier this month.

Even Americans in the southern United States were treated to a very rare white Christmas: light to moderate snow blanketed communities in Alabama, Mississippi, and North Carolina.

Atlanta, Georgia enjoyed its first white Christmas in 128 years.

Officials in eastern Canada said they also were bracing for the storm, which was expected to arrive in Nova Scotia sometime yesterday.

The AAA, a membership association for US road travellers, estimated that 92.3 million Americans would travel 80 kilometres or more from home during the year-end holidays from December 23, 2010 to January 2, 2011.

Among those most likely to be inconvenienced are those whose plans included air travel, with major carriers cancelling hundreds of flights, mainly in the northeast.