NEW YORK: About 1,400 US flights were cancelled early on Sunday after the northeastern part of the country was walloped by a fierce winter storm a day earlier, with much quieter weather expected this week.

Several US states had declared emergencies in response to the storm, which formed in the Atlantic Ocean off the Carolinas and was forecast to continue depositing snow into Sunday morning as it moved north to Maine.

The total number of flight cancellations within, into, or out of the United States was about 1,400 as of 10:30am, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.com. Another 647 US-related flights were delayed, the data showed.

The LaGuardia Airport and the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and the Boston Logan International Airport each had over 200 flight cancellations as of early Sunday.

The fierce winter storm on Saturday dropped more than 2 feet (60 cm) of snow on some areas while packing high winds, prompting thousands of flight cancellations and leading governors in Rhode Island and other states to curtail access to the roads.

New York’s Long Island town of Islip was the hardest hit statewide, Governor Kathy Hochul told WCBS-TV on Sunday. “We’re going to give them the golden snowball award for this week, this storm. They were at 24.7 inches,” Hochul said.

Much quieter weather was expected across the US East Coast on Sunday, the National Weather Service said.

In neighboring Canada, the worst of the cold weather was over in Atlantic Canada, but many communities were dealing with residual blowing snow, rain, strong winds and storm surge on Sunday, according to the Weather Network channel.

The conditions on the Massachusetts island of Nantucket were improving after the powerful nor’easter flooded roads and caused a large power outage on Saturday, the local police department said.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2022