A winter storm has made travel torturous in the US northeast, dropping a thick layer of snow that stranded thousands of airline, train and bus passengers and made motorists think twice about hitting after-Christmas sales.
More than 30 centimeteres of snow was expected in some areas, including New York and Boston, where an aquarium had to protect penguin ice sculptures from the elements.
A dumping of up to 50cms had been forecast for Philadelphia, where the Eagles-Vikings NFL game was postponed because of the storm, but by early evening meteorologists said the city would end up getting no more than a foot.
More than 1,400 flights had been cancelled out of the New York City area's three major airports alone, and more cancellations were expected today.
Airlines cancelled flights throughout the Northeast and at airports in Washington, DC, Baltimore, Chicago and the Carolinas. They expected more cancellations today, but were trying to re-book passengers and hoped to resume normal operations on Tuesday.
US Airways had already cancelled 110 of today's flights by Sunday afternoon - a spokesman Jim Olson said that was to try to keep passengers and crews from getting stranded at airports.
New York's Kennedy Airport was calm on Sunday afternoon, apparently because many would-be travellers elected not to trudge to the terminal in hopes of getting re-booked, but it closed today, according to the website for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the area's airports. Authority officials did not immediately return calls seeking further information.
Amtrak, meanwhile, cancelled train service from New York to Maine on Sunday evening, after doing the same earlier for several trains in Virginia. New York's Long Island Rail Road, the nation's largest commuter rail system, also suspended service. Bus companies cancelled routes up and down the East Coast, affecting thousands of travellers.
The Northeast received the brunt of the storm. Forecasters issued blizzard warnings for parts of New Jersey and New York City for Sunday and today.
