Winter Storm Sparta 2015: March Begins With Snow In 49 Of 50 States; Thousands Of Flights Canceled

March has come in like a lion for much of the United States, with 49 of 50 states having snow on the ground on the first day of the new month, the National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center said. Florida is the only state that has been spared from the white stuff.

LaGuardia Airport in New York City grounded arriving flights Sunday due to snow and ice and delayed departures because of the weather, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Other New York City airports, including John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport, also instituted ground stops. Meanwhile, Philadelphia International Airport was reporting ground delays.

As of early Sunday evening, there were about 8,000 flight delays and 2,400 cancellations across the United States, Flight Aware reported. All three major New York City airports were among the top 10 in outbound and inbound cancellations although Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport topped both lists with 234 outbound and 232 inbound cancellations. More than 1,400 cancellations were reported in New York City, Philadelphia and Washington.

Both Alaska and Hawaii had snow cover on Sunday. The last time all 50 states had snow was a little more than five years ago, on Feb. 12, 2010, the Weather Channel said.

A winter storm that developed Friday in Oklahoma and Texas pushed into Missouri Saturday where a multicar pileup caused Interstate 44 to be closed for a portion of the day. The storm moved into Illinois, Indiana and Ohio Sunday, where six inches of snow was reported in some areas, the Weather Channel said. The storm, dubbed Winter Storm Sparta, was also blamed for icy conditions in North Carolina. Snow was dumped in a dozen states. The storm was expected to impact mid-Atlantic states and the Northeast into Sunday night.

March picked up where February left off. Record-breaking cold temperatures were set last month in eight U.S. cities, including Boston, which was bombarded with a record 64.8 inches of snow during the month, National Monitor reported. A number of Northeast cities had average temperatures below 10 degrees last month.