Widespread winter blast strands holiday travelers

Widespread winter blast strands holiday travelers

SEATTLE -- A blast of winter in the nation's northern tier stranded travelers far and wide Sunday just a few days before Christmas, with dozens of flights delayed or canceled and bus passengers sleeping on cardboard at a Seattle terminal.

A weekend storm dumped about 5 inches of snow around Seattle by Sunday morning, and it snowed anew all afternoon, with the National Weather Service predicting up to 4 inches more by Monday morning.

Storms in the Northeast and Midwest also produced travel headaches for those trying to get home by land or air. Flights Sunday at Newark Airport, serving New York City, were delayed an average of two hours. Some arrivals at Logan International Airport in Boston were delayed by more than three hours.

And as the weather interfered with airports in Northern states, George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston had delays averaging about five hours.

Two of the three runways at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport were operating, but airlines canceled scores of flights Saturday and Sunday, leaving several hundred people wondering when they'd get on a plane, airport spokesman Perry Cooper said. Alaska and Horizon airlines suspended all service Sunday afternoon.

Several airlines urged passengers to rebook flights online from their homes, rather than clog ticket counters. Virgin America encouraged passengers not to fly out of Seattle on Sunday by waiving ticket-change fees for anyone who decided to stay home.

The airport in Portland, Ore., also remained open, albeit with many canceled flights.

Those hoping to save money in tough economic times by taking the bus were stymied. A few dozen passengers were stranded at Greyhound's Seattle terminal Sunday, with no buses running, and some people had been there for days. Fed up, some passengers rented cars and braved the slippery roads on their own.

Barton, a 30-year-old diesel mechanic, said he left Florida on Dec. 9 for a 3,754-mile trip to Bellingham, Wash., where he planned to catch a weekly ferry to Alaska. He arrived in Seattle on Tuesday and said the snow kept him from making it to Bellingham.

"As soon as I get there, I'll get there," he said. "I don't particularly want to spend Christmas in a Greyhound station."

Steven Jemison, a 39-year-old steakhouse chef from Osage Beach, Mo., was hoping to make it to his sister's home in San Diego for Christmas on Thursday and was taking the bus because "with the economy, everyone's trying to save as much money as they can."

He had been stuck at the Seattle terminal since Friday, but that was nothing new. He also had to wait in Chicago for four days and in Spokane for three because of foul weather.

"It's been like this all across the top part of the country," he said.

As for the accommodations, "they're not the greatest."

"I mean, change the TV station; play a movie or something," he said. "Keep people occupied. And get blankets or cots for the kids, or at least for the kids and the elderly. There's no reason a 70-year-old should have to sleep sitting up."

Greyhound spokesman Eric Wesley in Dallas said the company was doing what it could. The company reported delays in between Seattle and Billings, Mont.; Portland, Ore.; and Vancouver, British Columbia.

"We're going to do our best to take care of the passengers," he said. "We'll wait and see what the weather does before we put any passengers on the highway."

Amtrak also canceled train service Sunday between Eugene, Ore., and Vancouver; and between Seattle and Spokane. Service from Seattle to Los Angeles was still running, but with "extreme delays," Amtrak said in a news release.

Sounder commuter trains were to run on a holiday schedule Monday.

Eastern Washington was also getting a dose of snow, with more on the way. Two inches fell early Sunday in Spokane -- where as much as 3 feet was already on the ground -- and 4 more inches was expected by Monday morning, the National Weather Service said.

From there, things get worse: A new storm is expected to drop up to 10 inches on Wednesday in eastern Washington.