Northeast Winter Storm Forced 1,100 Flight Cancellations; 4,700 More Delayed

An extreme winter storm has resulted in thousands of flight cancellations and delays as it moved into the Northeast.

Almost 1,150 flights that were set to arrive or depart the country had been canceled as of 7 p.m. EDT Tuesday, marking the largest number of flight cancellations this month, CNN reported, citing data from flight tracking site FlightAware.

LaGuardia International Airport in New York and the Boston Logan International Airport in Massachusetts both registered 300 flight cancellations. New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport also reported almost 150 cancellations.

The winter storm bringing heavy snow, winds and coastal flooding caused delays to more than 4,700 flights.

Affected airports had advised travelers to check with their airlines to know the status of their flights before heading to the airport.

Several airlines, including Delta Air Lines, American, United, Southwest, JetBlue, and Spirit, issued weather waivers to provide passengers with free flight rescheduling for a limited time.

The season's first nor'easter dropped nearly 3 feet of snow over parts of the Northeast as of Tuesday evening, causing power outages for tens of thousands of people.

Areas from upstate New York into southern New England have seen at least 2 feet of snowfall since Monday night, according to the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center (WPC).

Parts of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine also saw several inches of snow.

The weather event pushed New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to declare a state of emergency in dozens of affected upstate counties Monday, providing necessary resources for local officials for any relief and response initiatives.

"My team is in constant contact with local officials, and the National Guard is ready to assist with any necessary emergency response over the next two days as power outages remain a concern," Hochul said.

In Maine, Gov. Janet Mills closed all government offices due to the winter storm, advising residents to avoid roads as much as possible and give space to first responders and road crews.

Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Transportation Department had already deployed 1,700 pieces of equipment to assist in snow and ice response.

Power outages were reported by over 240,000 customers across New York, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us.

Strong wind gusts were forecast by the WPC to hit areas from the mid-Atlantic through the Northeast through Wednesday, which could mean more power outages and woes for travelers.

The weather agency also warned that several parts of Massachusetts could see minor coastal flooding and beach erosion Tuesday night.