Snowstorm brings American east coast to standstill

A winter storm made travel torturous in north-east America, dropping a thick layer of snow that stranded thousands of airline, train and bus passengers and made motorists think twice about hitting post-Christmas sales.

More than a foot of snow was expected in some areas, including New York and Boston, where an aquarium had to protect - of all things - penguin ice sculptures from the elements.

A dumping of up to 20ins had been forecast for Philadelphia, but early today meteorologists said the city would end up getting no more than a foot.

More than 1,400 flights had been cancelled from the New York City area's three major airports alone, and more cancellations were expected today.

Airlines cancelled flights throughout the north east and at airports in Washington DC, Baltimore, Chicago and the Carolinas. They expected more cancellations today, but were trying to rebook passengers and hoped to resume normal operations tomorrow.

US Airways had already cancelled 110 Monday flights by yesterday afternoon to try to keep passengers and crews from getting stranded at airports.

New York's Kennedy Airport was calm, apparently because many would-be travellers elected not to trudge to the terminal in hopes of getting rebooked.

Amtrak meanwhile, cancelled train service from New York to Maine, after doing the same earlier for several trains in Virginia. Bus companies cancelled routes up and down the East Coast, affecting thousands of travellers.

Kate Lindquist, on her way home from New Hampshire to New York City, was greeted with a handwritten sign at a Boston bus station: "Sorry, we are closed today."

"To have this happen on a Sunday during a holiday weekend is incredibly frustrating," she said.

The north east received the brunt of the storm. Forecasters issued a blizzard warning for New York City for yesterday and today, with a forecast of 11-16ins of snow and strong winds reducing visibility to near zero at times.

A blizzard warning was also in effect for Rhode Island and most of eastern Massachusetts, where 12-16ins of snow was expected by the time flurries tapered off today, said William Babcock, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts.

A blizzard warning is issued when snow is accompanied by sustained winds or gusts over 35mph.

There was controversy when, before any snow had accumulated in the city, the Philadelphia Eagles' game against the Minnesota Vikings was delayed from last night to tomorrow because of "public safety concerns".

Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell, who does football commentaries after Eagles games, was not amused and said fans could have handled it.

"This is football; football's played in bad weather," he told KYW-TV. "I for one was looking forward to sitting in the stands throughout the snow and seeing an old-time football game."

In Boston, the New England Aquarium bubble-wrapped its four 5ft penguin ice sculptures to protect them from the wind and snow.

The weather deterred some people from hitting day-after-Christmas sales, but that appeared to be a relatively light blow for retailers coming off a strong shopping season.

"People will just wait a day to do exchanges and use their gift cards. It's no big deal," said Greg Maloney, chief executive of Jones Lang LaSalle, which manages malls across the country.

The monster storm is the result of a low pressure system off the North Carolina coast, which has strengthened as it moved north east, according to the National Weather Service.

Travel misery began a day earlier in parts of the South, which was hit with a white Christmas for the record books.

Columbia, South Carolina, had its first significant Christmas snow since weather records were first kept in 1887. Atlanta had just over an inch of snow - the first measurable accumulation on Christmas Day since the 1880s - and about 12ins of snow fell in Norfolk, Virginia, the most seen there since a February 1989 storm dumped nearly 15ins.

Utility companies in the Carolinas said more than 100,000 people lost power because of the storm and only about a third had service restored by last night.