Hundreds Of Flights Cancelled Amid Third Nor'Easter In Two Weeks
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Most of New England was under a winter storm warning again on Tuesday, as a third nor'easter hit the East Coast in less than two weeks.
Heavy snow was falling Tuesday morning, and was causing problems at airports. More than 1,600 flights across the Northeast have been cancelled because of the storm.
East Coast airports were mobbed with travelers trying to get out ahead of the storm.
Airlines have cancelled 56 flights at O'Hare International Airport and 20 flights at Midway International Airport due to the nor'easter. Those numbers were expected to rise through the day.
From southern Maine to New Jersey, residents of more than half a dozen states were expected to get socked by as much as 2 feet of snow in some cases. Winds could be intense enough to generate blizzard conditions, with gusts of more than 50 mph along some parts of the East Coast.
Nearly 44 million people in more than a half dozen states were dealing with winter storm advisories or warnings on Tuesday.
Residents have been told to travel only if it's necessary. With lots of snow already on the ground from two previous nor'easters, officials said driving will be difficult at best.
"We're going to see a ton of snow, and it will make driving very dangerous for almost the entire day," Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said. "We expect to see sustained winds of up to 30 to 40 miles per hour along the coast, and gusts of up to 50 to 60 miles an hour. We also expect minor to moderate coastal flooding along parts of the coast."
In Massachusetts, non-emergency state employees were told not to report to work on Tuesday.
One key difference with this storm compared to the two earlier nor'easters was, while power outages were expected, they weren't expected to be as widespread, with the snow much drier this time.