More air travelers grounded amid snow storm in New York, New England
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: New York's JFK is expected to reopen at 6 p.m., according to FAA
- NEW: 4,500 households are without power in the New York metro area
- A bus remains trapped alongside 50 cars on NJ highway
- More than 2,500 flights have been canceled since Sunday
New York (CNN) -- Thousands of travelers were stranded Monday as blizzard conditions halted flights at New York's three major airports, slowed rail travel and continued to create treacherous conditions on roads throughout the East Coast.
The storm brought high winds -- in some cases as much as 80 miles per hour -- and blinding snow to much of the East Coast beginning Sunday. Some places were forecast to receive as much as 30 inches of snow overall. Blizzard warnings remained in effect through noon Monday for much of coastal New England, where coastal flooding was also a problem.
Incoming and departing flights were suspended at New York's John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports Sunday night, as well as at Newark Liberty International Airport in neighboring north New Jersey, Port Authority spokeswoman Sara Joren said.
LaGuardia and Newark airports will remain closed until further notification, while New York's John F. Kennedy is expected to reopen at 6 p.m. ET Monday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The federal Transportation Security Administration is coordinating with airports and airlines to bolster staffing as necessary for when flights resume, according to spokeswoman Sterling Payne.
Travelers were seen sleeping on cots and atop luggage carousels overnight, while less fortunate people bedded down on airport floors.
"It looked like everybody was camping inside," said Jacob Chmielecki, who was stranded with his family at New York's LaGuardia airport.
His father, Mike, said he "thought we were going to be on the floor."
"The cots were an upgrade," he said.
More than 2,500 flights have been cancelled since the storm began, according to airline representatives.
Amtrak, which had canceled service between Boston and New York on Sunday, said Monday morning that it had resumed limited service between the two cities. But spokesman Cliff Cole warned that many trains may already be sold out.
The passenger train service's decision to cancel service on Sunday affected some 10,000 passengers.
Travel by road was also difficult. Emergency declarations were in place Monday in Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and Massachusetts, among other places.
Some 50 people aboard two tour buses traveling from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to New York became stranded about midnight Monday on the Garden State Parkway near West Trenton, according to New Jersey State Police spokesman Stephen Jones.
Police had freed one bus from the snow, but were still struggling to free the second by late Monday morning, Jones said.
"It's a matter of trying to get tow trucks out there," he said. "The bus is actually off the road and has to be pulled out from where it is. And there are no tow trucks with heavy-duty tows available."
Up to 50 cars were also trapped near the bus, said state police spokesman Rick Fuentes. Half of those cars were abandoned as 5-foot snow drifts rendered sections of the road virtually impassable, Fuentes said.
Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell has asked people to stay off the state's roads unless absolutely necessary, said Peter Boynton, the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Management.
"If you have to be on the road, of course, the rule of the day is take it slow," he said.
In New Jersey, acting Gov. Stephen Sweeney ordered state offices closed and urged motorists to stay off roadways.
In Massachusetts coastal flooding was an issue. Fire crews in Scituate, Massachusetts, had to use inflatable boats to rescue a family of four from a beachfront home after a vacant summer home next door caught fire, WCVB-TV reported. Three other people were rescued from another home, according to the station.
Gov. Deval Patrick said the state was handling the storm well despite the tremendous snow totals, high winds and flooding.
"We are used to severe weather this time of year and everybody seems to be coping," he said.
Airports that normally would have been flush with activity after Christmas were largely quiet Monday as many would-be travelers stayed away, thanks in part to many airlines' pre-emptive cancellations.
But not all. Shabaz Motan came to LaGuardia on Sunday afternoon even though he knew his flight to Chicago had been canceled. He was hoping to get a free hotel room or flight voucher from the airline, but he ended up sleeping on a cot because airline officials told him it wasn't their fault he couldn't fly.
"It's been tough," he said.
Julie Stratton also spent the night at LaGuardia. She was scheduled to fly to Indianapolis, Indiana, on Sunday, but said Monday she is now being told she may not be able to fly out until Thursday.
"It's not the best of scenarios, no," she said. "But you just have to make the best of it. There's nothing else you can do."
At JFK, travel writer Jason Cochran said airport restaurants were running out of food, the latest blow for fellow passengers who suffered through an uncomfortable night.
"I guess the best word is dejected," he said.
Most carriers were waiving penalties for passengers traveling Sunday and Monday to airports from North Carolina to Boston and beyond. Affected customers were being urged to contact the relevant airline either by phone or online.
The mayors of Philadelphia, Boston, Providence and Portland, Maine, also called snow emergencies, while New York City launched a winter snow storm operation and encouraged people to stay off the roads by taking mass transit or staying put.
"Unfortunately, our city is directly in the path," New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Sunday afternoon, amid a blizzard warning that extends until 6 p.m. Monday. "It's hard to stand up in a 55-mph wind, so this really is dangerous."
The Northeast was not the only area being affected. In North Carolina, icy road conditions were blamed for three deaths.
The storm's timing, coming over a holiday weekend, was fortuitous for some and disastrous for others. City and state officials predicted that the blizzard's impact on the economy and otherwise might be muted, because many people had the holiday weekend off and fewer were expected to be commuting into work than normal on Monday.
"With the people who are staying home for the holidays, it's great, but we know a lot of people who are trying to get home," said Brett Martin, claiming his hometown of Virginia Beach, Virginia, had received almost a foot of snow. "We're just playing games and hanging out by the fire."
Consolidated Edison reported on its website that more than 4,500 households are without power in the New York metropolitan area.
The Long Island Power Authority noted as many as 32,000 customers had been affected by the storm, though power was restored to most households by Monday afternoon.
"High winds continue today and roads are still hazardous," the power authority's website said. "These conditions have delayed our ability to restore service. Our crews have been working through the night and will continue until all storm-related outages have been restored."
Meanwhile, the NFL announced that a game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Philadelphia Eagles -- originally scheduled for Sunday night -- had been postponed until 8:20 p.m. Tuesday.
"It was dangerous for the players, dangerous for the fans," said Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, who called a state of emergency in anticipation of up to 14 inches of snow. "People still have to get out of the parking lot (and get in) their cars."
CNN's Jason Kessler, Allan Chernoff, Greg Botelho, Georgette Knuckles, Holly Yan, Nick Valencia, Chuck Johnston, Nina Golgowski and Susan Candiotti contributed to this report. |