A late-season snowstorm that swept the mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States began to weaken on Wednesday after killing six people and closing schools, but airline cancellations persisted.
Millions of people on the East Coast faced temperatures 10 to 25 degrees below average, wind gusts of 30 mph and slick roads and sidewalks as they returned to work and classes on Wednesday.
The cold took a toll on Washington D.C.’s famed cherry trees, many of which had reached their bloom cycle’s “puffy white” stage when they were damaged by temperatures of 27 degrees Fahrenheit or below, the National Park Service said.
The city’s Cherry Blossom Festival is one of the capital’s major tourist attractions and peak bloom was predicted to begin March 19-22.
The rare mid-March “nor'easter” was tapering off over upstate New York and northern New England after dumping as much as a foot of snow with gale-force winds throughout the region on Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.
Airline operations had returned mostly to normal on Wednesday, despite residual cancellations still affecting the major U.S. carriers. American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines all reported storm-related cancellations and delays through the day.
