U.S. air carriers have canceled nearly 5,000 flights this weekend as destructive Hurricane Irene threatens several large airports in New York and Washington.

Irene is now a strong Category 2 storm, with the possibility of increasing in strength. It is churning closer to the East Coast of the U.S. after destroying homes, blocking roads and plunging parts of the Bahamas into darkness.

Large airlines to include U.S. Airways, American, United, Continental, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest and AirTran have reportedly dropped ticket-change fees for passengers scheduled to fly to or from many cities along the East Coast this weekend and early next week.

Aviation officials have already made it known that they will close the five main New York City-area airports to incoming passenger flights beginning noon on Saturday. Many weekend departures have also been canceled.

These cancellations will affects John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia, Stewart International and Teterboro airports. It applies to both domestic and international flights.

CNN has reported that:

- Delta Air Lines plans to cancel about 1,300 Delta and Delta Connection flights between Saturday and Monday, according to spokesman Anthony Black.

- American Airlines canceled all Washington-area flights from noon Saturday through noon Sunday, according to spokesman Ed Martelle. The airline also canceled 32 Friday flights.

- JetBlue has canceled almost 900 flights in the Northeast ahead of the storm. Most of those are Sunday and Monday flights out of the New York metro area and Boston, spokesman Mateo Lleras said.

- Air Tran has canceled 265 flights from Saturday to Monday, according to spokeswoman Judy Graham-Weaver. That includes flights into and out of the following locales: Allentown/Bethlehem, Penn.; Atlantic City, N.J.; Baltimore-Washington International, Md.; Boston; New York's LaGuardia airport; Newport News, Virginia; Philadelphia; Portland, Maine; Richmond, Virginia; Washington's Reagan airport; Washington Dulles airport in northern Virginia; and White Plains, N.Y.

- Southwest announced on its website that it would not have flights to and from several airports on the East Coast. That includes no Southwest service Saturday and Sunday from Newark, LaGuardia, Long Island-Islip and Philadelphia airports. The airline won't fly to or from the Baltimore/Washington airport; Norfolk, Virginia; or Washington-Dulles in northern Virginia on Saturday. Similarly, there will be no Southwest flights Sunday to Boston; Hartford; Manchester, New Hampshire; and Providence, Rhode Island.

- US Airways is planning significant cancellations in the Washington metro area starting at 6 p.m. Saturday, carrying into Sunday. Philadelphia, New York and New England routes will see significant schedule reductions Sunday, according to an airline spokesman.

Check out this an animation of the Hurricane Irene track, sped up using infrared and visible frames of data from the GOES-13 satellite and squeezed down to 36 seconds.

Hurricane Irene 2011
Astronaut Ron Garan tweeted this picture of Hurricane Irene from the International Space Station on August 24, 2011: "Ominous view #FromSpace of Hurricane #Irene east of the Bahamas @ 3:14pm EST today. East FL coast is calm b4 storm." NAsA
Hurricane Irene as Seen by the GOES Satellite on August 24, 2011
As Hurricane Irene continues to strengthen, its shape is becoming more defined. In this image, taken by the GOES satellite at 2:55 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on August 24, 2011, Irene has a distinct eye. The clouds spiraling around the center are becoming more compact, and the storm is more circular than in previous days. NASA/GOES Project Science team
Eye of Hurricane Irene
Hurricane Irene's eye as seen by infrared instruments onboard the GOES-East satellite. NOAA
Hurricane Irene as Seen from Space
This visible image was taken from the MODIS instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite on Aug. 21, 2011 at 17:45 UTC (1:45 p.m. EDT) when Irene was still a tropical storm approaching Puerto Rico (left). NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Respo
Hurricane Irene Passing North of Cuba
Astronaut Ron Garan continues to send pictures of Hurricane Irene from the International Space Station: "The view #FromSpace of #Hurricane #Irene as it passed north of Cuba @ 7:50pm GMT yesterday 8/25/11." NASA via Ron Garan/@Astro_Ron
Hurricane Irene
Hurricane Irene is on course to affect almost the entire U.S. East Coast -- a major and dangerous storm. REUTERS
Hurricane Irene
NASA satellite image of Hurricane Irene moving through the Bahamas NASA
New York American Airlines Storm Pennsylvania