Storm, icy roads snarl up US traffic on busiest travel day of year

A strong storm struck the Eastern parts of the United States on Wednesday, slowing the busiest travel day of the year as an estimated 43 million Americans drove, flew or took trains and buses for the long Thanksgiving weekend. The storm, which brought rain to some regions and snow to others, bumped more than 6,000 flights off schedule, forcing 271 cancellations on Tuesday. Early Wednesday, another 95 flights were canceled. Heavy winds at all three New York area airports -- LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy and Newark-Liberty -- created delays of about an hour, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, while Philadelphia International Airport was experiencing an average of nearly two hours in departure delays. Drivers in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia faced treacherous icy roads. Up to a foot of snow covered parts of Pennsylvania, and it was falling from upstate New York into Canada, where more than a foot was possible. Snow also continued in the central Appalachians and around the Great Lakes as cold air produced lake-effect snows. In New York City, organizers of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade scheduled for Thursday were monitoring forecasts calling for sustained wind of 15 to 22 miles per hour (mph) and gusts as high as 40 mph. City rules would forbid the larger parade floats if sustained wind on Thursday is higher than 23 mph or gusts stronger than 34 mph