U.S. East Coast digs out from record snow

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Air traffic was resuming and the U.S. East Coast was digging out Sunday from a storm that caused at least two deaths and set snowfall records, officials said.

Authorities in Virginia said two people were killed in weather-related crashes and two other deaths were "likely related to the winter storm," CNN reported.

Winter storm warnings for New York expired at 11 a.m. EST Sunday, and warnings for the Boston metro area and much of southeastern New England expired at noon, CNN reported.

Hundreds of flights in the northeastern United States were canceled as the remnants of a strong winter storm gripped most of the region, but some airports in the region were beginning to accept flights by midday, CNN said.

Southwest Airlines confirmed it canceled 146 flights Sunday, after 380 cancellations Saturday, when the powerful nor'easter dumped large amounts of snow on cities like Philadelphia, Washington and New York, The Wall Street Journal said.

Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins said airlines had been asked by the Federal Aviation Administration to delay flights scheduled to arrive in airports in stricken areas to allow time for snow removal.

United Airlines confirmed it has canceled nearly 1,000 flights amid the storm, while Delta Air Lines announced it canceled nearly 800 flights.

Snowfall records for December were broken Saturday in Philadelphia, which received 22.9 inches of snow and in Washington, which saw 15.0 inches, Accuweather.com said.

The Baltimore Sun said the snowstorm left thousands of homes throughout the mid-Atlantic without power and hundreds of malls and department stores were forced to close on the last weekend before Christmas.