As the season’s first snowstorm hit New York on Sunday, travel by road, rail and air came to a halt on a weekend, which is usually one of the busiest traveled weekend because of Christmas holidays.

Over 1,500 flights including 850 Delta Air Lines flights, about 265 flights each from American Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Continental Airlines and 110 United Airlines flights were canceled, according to representatives of the airlines. Ice-packed roads caused havoc among riders and the Amtrak passenger rail service was shut between New York and Boston, said media reports, snarling travel in the region.

Predicting snowfall up to 25 inches in most of the areas, the National Weather Service of the United States had issued warnings of the blizzard in north-east New Jersey, Long Island and coastal and interior south-east Connecticut.

Even as the administration employed workers to get the snow from blizzard out of way, travelers moaned the sudden storm had put them in a state of limbo.

We've been jumping through hoops all day and now we have no place to stay. They won't accommodate us with a hotel. I wanted a White Christmas this year and here it is the day after. Too much snow came too late, Brittney Friend, who was unable to reach Chicago because of the blizzard, was quoted as saying in media.