Weather strands thousands of US travelers

Just one indication of how wintry weather impacted travelers across the US this week: Reagan National in Washington, DC, closed because it ran out of chemicals to treat runways and aircraft.

Bitter winter conditions that included heavy snowfall forced the temporary closure of three big airports.

Major delays were common Wednesday and the number of weather-related flight cancellations easily reached into the hundreds, affecting airports across large swaths of the Midwest, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. There was also a trickle-down effect as delays were reported at connecting airports.

One of the most affected airports was Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, a hub for Delta Air Lines.

About 20% of that airport’s scheduled flights were canceled Tuesday, but not because of weather problems in the Cincinnati area, airport officials told The Associated Press.

“Chicago-O’Hare has a 3½-hour delay, and Philadelphia is not taking planes until 9:30,” Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky spokesman Ted Bushelman said. He said those delays were impacting operations at his airport on Tuesday night.

The weather Thursday eased up across the US as snow often turned to sleet.

But hundreds of flights had been canceled at Albany, Boston, New York City, Washington, Chicago, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Indianapolis.

The National Weather Service issued blizzard warnings for parts of New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine, where as much as two feet of snow was possible.

Most of upstate New York reported several inches of new snow Wednesday morning with 10 inches at Owego, on the Pennsylvania line. The weather service said some places around the state could receive as much as three feet.

However, the brunt of the storm bypassed towns near the east end of Lake Ontario that had been buried by 10 feet and more of lake-effect snow over the past week.

More than a foot of snow had fallen in parts of Indiana and stiff wind piled it into drifts as high as 9 feet. Springfield, Ill., measured 16 inches.

National Guard armories and other facilities were opened in Indiana as shelters for stalled travelers and local residents who lacked heat. Three to five busloads of residents were taken to a shelter at Jennings County High School in southern Indiana, the state homeland security agency said.

Snowfall began tapering off in Illinois but many counties had closed some or all rural roads until the snow stopped drifting. Some Ohio counties closed roads to all but emergency workers Wednesday and warned that travelers on the roads could be arrested.

“We have a lot of trucks parked pretty much everywhere, clogging up the whole parking lot,” said sales clerk Nathan Robinson at the Auburn Travel Center truck stop about 10 miles south of Springfield, Ill., off Interstate 55.

Even Valentine’s Day delivery was impacted with delivery people forced to negotiate slippery streets and sidewalks to bring flowers and candy.

Report by David Wilkening