A powerful storm sweeping through the Northeastern region of the United States on Friday caused the cancellation of more than 3,400 flights and delayed 4,265 flights across the nation, USA Today reported.

The storm lashing through the Northeastern region brought rain, snow and severe wind that killed at least five people. The storm flooded streets in Boston, grounded flights and halted train service across the region.

"Many airlines proactively canceled flights last night and this morning in anticipation of the forecasted winds," FlightAware Sara Orsi said in a Friday afternoon statement. "This has reduced broader impact to operations and will help them recover their schedules faster."

"We expect this situation to improve by tomorrow morning," she added.

According to tracking service FlightAware.com, more than a quarter of flights from New York's three major airports and Boston's airport was canceled on Friday, Reuters reported.

The number of cancellations were growing significantly in Philadelphia, Baltimore/Washington, Cleveland in Ohio, Raleigh/Durham in North Carolina and Richmond in Virginia, the report said.

According to a report in Reuters, the Federal Aviation Administration said most passengers became sick and the pilots were on the verge of becoming ill, after a flight which landed at Washington's Dulles International Airport came in through rough turbulence.

The pilot, in an in-flight report on conditions, according to the National Weather Service's Aviation Weather Center website, said: “Very bumpy on descent, Pretty much everyone on the plane threw up, Pilots were on the verge of throwing up.”

More than two million homes were left without power due to the storm that battered the East Coast, the Energy Department said in a tweet on Friday.

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Flooding along Long Wharf as high tide approaches during a large coastal storm on March 2, 2018, in Boston, Massachusetts. A nor'easter hit the East Coast on Friday, bringing coastal flooding, heavy snow and strong winds to the area. Getty

The coastal streets of Boston were flooded with seawater for the second time this year, Reuters reported.

"That one still looks like it's going to be on target for at least moderate coastal flooding, which means we're going to see some problems in Boston," said Jim Hayes, a meteorologist with the agency's Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.

A state of emergency was declared by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam. “On this date, March 2, 2018, I am declaring a state of emergency to exist for the Commonwealth of Virginia based on the severe weather event.” he said in a statement.

“The health and general welfare of the citizens require state action to help alleviate the conditions caused by this situation,” he continued.

The governor directed state and local government agencies to provide appropriate assistance, in order to “prepare for potential severe weather impacts, to alleviate any conditions resulting from the situation, and to implement recovery and mitigation operations and activities so as to return impacted areas to pre-event conditions as much as possible.”

In addition to the flights, railways also halted services on Friday. Passenger railroad Amtrak said it was suspending the southbound service out of Washington to Boston, until at least Saturday morning, due to downed trees on the track, a report said.

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