Blizzard wreaks havoc for U.S. travelers

The two-day blizzard that hit the East Coast on Sunday left behind a trail of disruption involving blockage of some major roadways, cancellation of a number of flights and complete suspension of rail services.

A number of major airports like the John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia and New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport remained closed, much to the dismay of thousands of travelers.

[Update: As of Tuesday morning the Federal Aviation Administration reported that Newark, LaGuardia and JFK airports were open. Newark and LaGuardia airports were experiencing arrival and departure delays of 15 minutes or less. At JFK, arrivals were seeing delays of 15 minutes or less. For JFK departures, the FAA instructed flyers to check with their airlines to determine if a flight was affected.]

The storm that struck on Sunday was the worst in four years with snow accumulations of up to 16 inches and near-zero visibility at times. Due to this, drivers faced hazardous travel conditions and hence, a number of bus companies cancelled routes in and around the area.

The National Weather Service on Saturday issued blizzard warnings in New York City, parts of New Jersey and the adjoining suburbs. The service stated that the biggest accumulations were seen in New Jersey in areas like Rahway (32.0 inches), Elizabeth (31.8 inches) and Bricktown (30.0 inches); New York in Great Kills (29.0 inches), Harriman (26.0 inches) and Monroe (26.0 inches) and in certain parts of Vermont and New Hampshire.

There were also a major power outages in some areas owing to powerful gusts of wind. A number of fatal accidents have also been reported in North Carolina and Maine.

Thousands of people were trapped in the air, train and bus terminals and officials advised the public to avoid using the highways and mass transit areas.

Later, on Monday evening, some of the airports resumed services starting with the process of rebooking the flights for the thousands of passengers who have been stranded since Sunday.