Winter wonderland creates travel woes

CHICAGO, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Most of the United States was a winter wonderland Tuesday as storms unleashed snow, ice and bitter cold, making it difficult to go home for the holidays.

An infusion of warm air at the southern edge of the storm will add dense fog the mix, creating more traveling havoc, AccuWeather.com reported.

Warm air was expected to creep into the system Tuesday night, moving warmer temperatures and rain throughout the Northeast at midweek, Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams said.

Another 3-6 inches of snow was expected to spread across the northern Plains into the Upper Midwest by Tuesday night as well, forecasters said.

Another Pacific storm was expected to move into California Tuesday night, producing heavy mountain snow and rain in lower elevations that could spark a new round of dangerous flooding and mudslides, forecasters said.

Another system was predicted to spread more snow by Wednesday, AccuWeather.com said, predicting up to a foot of snow could be on the ground in portions of Wisconsin and northern Illinois and northern Michigan.

Across much of the United States, severe weather Monday hampered holiday travel, with delays of up to two hours reported at airports in the New York area and other areas, stranding thousands of travelers. Portions the New York Thruway from Rochester to the Pennsylvania border were closed because of weather, authorities said.

Flight delays also were reported at Chicago airports and Boston's Logan Airport, officials said.

In the Pacific Northwest, some travelers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport may have to wait until midweek or later to get out of the airport, CNN reported.

The storms also canceled train service in the region. Amtrak officials were working to restore some of the lines for Tuesday.