Snow confounds Canadian holiday travel

TORONTO, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Only two of 10 Canadian provinces had no winter weather warnings Wednesday as thousands of air and road travelers faced delays or cancellations.

Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island were free of weather alerts as two of the country's busiest airports -- Toronto and Vancouver -- struggled to catch up after six days of snowstorms that swept the country, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Environment Canada meteorologists predicted the country would experience its first national white Christmas since 1971, although rain forecast in Nova Scotia Wednesday could melt away the snow, the report said.

Toronto resident Larry Mickolwin told CTV News his flight Tuesday from Vancouver was a nightmare.

"They put us on a plane and left us there for 11 hours without moving, and with the threat we would lose our flight if we got off the plane ... they said you can't get off the plane if you have bags," he said.

The prairie provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba were also in their second week of bitterly cold temperatures, the CBC said.