Airports along U.S. east coast brace for another winter storm

WASHINGTON – Spring is in sight, but winter still has an icy grip on the eastern United States, with heavy snow and plummeting temperatures causing flight delays and cancellations at major airports on Monday.

Nearly 3,000 flights in the United States were cancelled early Monday, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.com – about one-tenth of the 30,000 flights usually scheduled in the U.S. on a typical day.

Air Canada (TSX:AC.A) was among the airlines warning customers to expect weather disruptions for service to Washington, D.C., as well as Baltimore, Raleigh, S.C., Nashville, Tenn., and major cities in the U.S. Northeast: Baltimore, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

The latest frigid blow of the harsh winter threatened as much as 10 inches of snow (25 centimetres) by the end of the day in Washington, Baltimore and elsewhere in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Up to six inches (15 centimetres) of snow was predicted to the north in Philadelphia, while nearly a foot of snow was expected in parts of New Jersey.

Snow began falling in the nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., early Monday, and officials warned people to stay off treacherous, icy roads – shut much of the city down.