Winter storm grounding airline flights in Northeast

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NEW YORK (CNN) -- Major airlines canceled flights Sunday as a winter storm bore down on the Northeast U.S., threatening to bring heavy snow and coastal flooding to the region.

CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers predicted the storm could last 48 hours, dumping up to 2 feet of snow in some areas.

Meanwhile, widespread school cancellations were expected for Monday morning throughout the region. State transportation workers throughout the region were prepared to dump tons of salt and sand onto roads in an effort to keep them usable.

All major airlines with East Coast destinations were urging the public to check their Web sites or their toll-free numbers for flight cancellation information.

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On Sunday night, Delta Airlines made the most dramatic move, deciding to cease operations throughout the Northeast beginning Monday morning.

The affected airports are JFK International and La Guardia in New York City; Newark, New Jersey; Islip, New York; Albany, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Allentown, Pennsylvania; Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Easton, Pennsylvania, Boston, Massachusetts; Providence, Rhode Island; and Hartford, Connecticut. Morning flights out of Reagan National and Dulles airports in Washington, D.C. are also canceled.

"We'll wait and see how long (the storm) sits over the area," Smith said, adding that the status of Tuesday's flights would be assessed Monday afternoon.

Smith said international Delta flights flying into New York would probably be diverted to Atlanta or Cincinnati, Ohio.

'Dynamic winter storm'

Continental and several other airlines also canceled some late Sunday flights into area airports. Continental Airlines canceled 78 flights into and out of the region for Monday. Spokeswoman Julie Gardner said airline officials would watch the weather closely and assess the situation Monday morning.

US Airways spokesman John Bronson said some Sunday night flights into and out of La Guardia in New York were canceled. He said the airline would assess the weather situation Monday morning to decide if more cancellations were necessary.

A New York City Parks Department truck is filled with salt in anticipation of heavy snowfall

Northwest Airlines had not canceled any flights by Sunday evening, spokeswoman Mary Beth Schubert said, but would evaluate the situation Monday morning.

Schubert said passengers who wanted to cancel their travel plans to or from certain cities in the Northeast Monday could do so with no penalties through March 10.

Louis Uccellini, director of the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration's National Centers for Environmental Protection, urged Americans to watch local forecasts for the latest winter advisories to be prepared for the storm.

"This is a developing and dynamic winter storm system that has the potential to explode into a major East Coast winter storm that will disrupt travel Monday through Tuesday," Uccellini said.

Stores report run on supplies

An Amtrak spokesman said no major delays or cancellations had been reported Sunday. In some areas, storm supplies were selling at a quick pace. "I'm packed," said Jim Murphy, the manager of Cunningham Ace Hardware in Lexington, Massachusetts, 26 miles north of Boston. "I can't even find a snow blower."

The bakery section shelves are nearly empty at a supermarket in Rhode Island on Sunday as worried shoppers prepare for a major storm

In anticipation of a run on salt to help melt snow, Murphy drove almost 200 miles Saturday night to Portland, Maine, where he bought 96 bags. By Sunday afternoon, he was almost sold out.

Murphy said he would close at 8 p.m. Sunday, three hours later than his usual closing time. Asked when he was planning to reopen Monday, he said, "It depends on if we can get here."

The National Weather Service predicted heavy snow from the slow-moving storm through Tuesday for portions of the East.

"We haven't seen a blocked pattern like this in many years," Uccellini said. In the Northeast, the heaviest snowfalls are expected in south-central and northeastern Pennsylvania, northwestern New Jersey, southeast New York, and northwestern Connecticut and central Massachusetts.

Forecasters were trying to determine where the rain-snow line will set up in the Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York City areas Sunday night into Monday.

Coastal flooding a concern

Uccellini said there was also a "significant" possibility of coastal flooding from the Virginia coast through the Delmarva Peninsula, New Jersey, Long Island, and into southern New England.

Alex Bain of Highland Park, New Jersey, loads groceries into his car as a heavy snow falls on Sunday

Boaters were urged to pay attention to the developing storm system and were warned of high winds and waves Sunday evening and Monday. "This is a dangerous and rapidly developing weather situation," Uccellini said.

Jim Hoke, director of NOAA's Hydrometeorological Prediction Center, said technology improvements have helped forecasters keep pace with this storm.

"Previously, this system would not have been detected so early. Only through recent advancements in computer technology, advanced observation and numerical modeling are we now able to see systems develop like this so far in advance," he said.

NOAA's 2000-2001 Winter Outlook, issued in October, predicted that this winter would be colder than the last three winters and that the weather pattern would be more variable.

NOAA's Climate Prediction Center predicted in late January that the nation would experience cold snaps and snow storms through the rest of the winter.

Major storm poised to unload snow on U.S. East Coast
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Storm with blizzard-like conditions rages across U.S. Plains
January 30, 2001
Northeast storm dumps up to a foot of snow
January 21, 2001

National Warnings Area
National Weather Service
NYS Emergency Management
National Snow and Ice Data Center
Climate Prediction Center, Expert Assessments

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