Winter storm disrupts 500 US flights
A powerful winter storm has dumped more than 30cm of snow on parts of the US causing the deaths of 15 people and forcing the cancellation of 457 flights.
The heaviest snow was falling on Pennsylvania, New York and New England, and winter storm warnings continued over a majority of the US northeast, the National Weather Service said.
The massive storm system touched off tornadoes in the South and produced snow in Texas before barrelling down on the densely populated Northeast.
The service forecast 30.5 to 46cm of snow for northern New England after the storm moved northeast out of the lower Great Lakes, where it left more than 30cm of snow on parts of Michigan.
The storm front was accompanied by freezing rain and sleet, creating hazards on the highways and at airports.
A Southwest Airlines jet skidded off the runway at Long Island MacArthur Airport, about 80km east of New York City, as it taxied for takeoff, Suffolk County police said.
None of the 134 people aboard Tampa-bound flight No. 4695 were injured, police said.
"It's been undetermined at this time if weather was a factor," a police spokeswoman said.
Snow was due to fall in northern New York, Vermont and New Hampshire at up to 5cm an hour, with winds gusting to 48km per hour, the weather agency said.
So far, 457 US airline flights scheduled today had been cancelled, according to FlightAware.com, a website that tracks flights.
American Airlines had the most cancelled at 55. A total of about 1,500 US flights were cancelled yesterday.
New York state activated its Emergency Operations Center late last night to deal with the first major storm of the season.
Governor Andrew Cuomo warned the heads of seven utilities they would be held accountable for their performances. Utilities near New York City were criticized for lingering outages after Superstorm Sandy devastated the region in October.
New York state has seen little snow during autumn and winter. Buffalo, New York, was 58cm below normal for the season before the storm, said Bill Hibbert, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
"We're short and even this big snow isn't going to make it up for us," he said.
The storm dumped record snow in north Texas and Arkansas before it swept through the US south on Christmas Day and then veered north.
The system spawned tornadoes and left almost 200,000 people in Arkansas and Alabama without power yesterday.
More than 100 flights at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport were also cancelled and dozens more delayed today in Canada. More than 70 flights were also cancelled or delayed at Montreal’s Trudeau Airport.
Environment Canada said the Montreal region could get up to 279mm of snow. Portions of southern Quebec are expected to see up to 431mm. Winter storm warnings are in place for parts of southern Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.
Reuters
