Airports across the Northeast and Great Lakes region are being crippled by major winter storms, forcing hundreds of cancellations and flight delays that are causing a ripple effect around the country.

The New York area and Chicago were the hardest hit, experiencing massive delays and cancellations. At least 250 flights had been scrapped at O’Hare airport as of mid-morning Friday, while 374 were canceled at Newark airport and 45 at JFK airport in New York City.

Milwaukee’s General Mitchell airport was completely shut down early Friday due to adverse weather conditions and heavy snow.

It is not known yet when the Milwaukee airport it will reopen. At the Detroit airport, the predicted snowfall could break the record of 8.7 inches set in 1973.

In upstate New York, the Buffalo airport, formally called the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport, has seen most of its flights canceled, too.

In Connecticut, Bradley International Airport was still operating, although airlines had canceled a number of flights. But now continues to fall and the National Weather Service has issued a storm warning for the state in effect until midnight Saturday.

Much of New England is still recovering from last week’s Ice Storm Wreaking Travel Havoc Across New England.

And Friday’s weather woes only compounded the difficulties many travelers have faced in the last 36 hours, when snow in Las Vegas, Oklahoma and fog in Dallas cause more than 100 flights to be canceled at airports in those three cities.

Passengers in all the affected areas are facing delays from 45 minutes to three and a half hours as the FAA and airline staff struggle to manage air traffic into and out of the airports.

The ripple effect is being felt as far away as sunny Orlando, Florida and Portland, Oregon, where passengers are affected by flights that never make it to these destinations because they are stuck elsewhere in the country.

Airlines such as Delta and American are advising those traveling today to check with airline customer service representatives before heading to the airport to see if their flights are still on schedule.

Most airlines will exempt passengers from paying change fees if they are forced to switch to a different flight or city. Those who are still able to travel are advised to arrive extra-early to deal long lines and other possible complications that may arise from the poor weather conditions.

Related links: USA Today, CNN

By Karen Elowitt for PeterGreenberg.com.

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