Northeast winter storm cancels Orlando International flights

Passengers instructed to check airlines before going to airport

ORLANDO, Fla. – Flights at Orlando International Airport are among the more than 3,000 canceled Thursday due to powerful winter storm pounding the Northeast.

A total of 148 flights were grounded and 52 were delayed at Orlando International by 6 p.m. due to the winter weather in the north, according to the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority.

Hundreds of flights were grounded at Boston Logan, LaGuardia, NeWark Liberty, John F Kennedy, Reagan National and Chicago International Airports.

In Orlando, JetBlue had the most canceled flights at 66 by 3 p.m.  American, Delta, Frontier and United airlines experienced more than 10 canceled flights each. More than 20 Orlando Southwest Airline flights were canceled.

Greater Orlando Aviation Authority spokesman Rod Johnson said they expect the number of canceled flights to rise as the storm rages on.

Passengers should contact their airlines before going to the airport Thursday. People with canceled flights should work directly with their airline to rebook, Johnson said.

More than 3,500 U.S. flights were canceled Thursday, according FlightAware.com.

The National Weather Service predicted that the Boston area and eastern Maine could get 12 to 18 inches of snow, and a blizzard warning has been issued for all of Long Island until 6 p.m. New York City could see 8 to 12 inches and the Philadelphia area 4 to 8 inches. Near whiteout conditions were possible, with the snow expected to fall at a clip of 2 to 4 inches per hour at its peak.

Officials also warned of high winds, coastal flooding and possible power outages.

Thursday's storm was expected to last 6 to 10 hours, Carl Erickson, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather in State College, Pennsylvania told The Associated Press.

Check back on ClickOrlando.com for updates on flight cancelations in Orlando.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

WINTER STORM UPDATES: Snowstorm pounds the Northeast, canceling flights, closing schools

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