There’s the storm and the havoc it wreaks on travel. Then the snowy calm. And then the questions about when business will return to normal.
Parts of the Northeast began digging themselves out Tuesday after a storm that shut down highways, mass transit and air travel.
By early afternoon in New York City, where the hit wasn’t as great as feared, the roads were largely cleared, subways were back in service and a strict travel ban imposed the night before had been lifted.
At the same time, folks in the Boston area were bracing themselves for several more hours of snow from a storm that was described as a potentially “historic” blizzard.
Air travel is where the impact is most readily noticed, and the ripple effect of canceled flights means it will likely be days before travel is back the way it was.
New York’s LaGuardia airport was preparing for flights again.
But thousands have been canceled, and the travel analysts at masFlight estimated Tuesday morning that at least 400,000 travelers were affected by flight cancellations alone.
If you were planning on traveling by plane, train or automobile this week, here’s what you need to know:
By train:
–Amtrak: The rail line canceled all Tuesday trips on several of its busy lines in the Northeast. It suspended Northeast Regional and Acela Express trains between New York and Boston, as well as Empire Service, Amtrak Downeaster, Vermonter and the Springfield line. The Lake Shore Limited and trains between New York and Washington, D.C., will conduct only partial service on Tuesday, Amtrak said. More from Amtrak.
–Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority: The greater Boston T said it will be closed all day and evening Tuesday. More from MBTA.
–New Jersey Transit: Service closed Monday evening but reopened on a reduced schedule on Tuesday. More from NJ Transit.
–New York City Transit: All service ended at 11 p.m. on Monday night but slowly returned on Tuesday. The nation’s largest single public transport network ran additional trains on Monday afternoon to get commuters fleeing work early before the weather hit.
By road: The storm is making for slick roads, including along major highways like I-70, I-80 I-84 and I-95. Travel bans put in place Monday evening were lifted Tuesday morning, but in many places, the conditions were still rough. “I am asking everyone in NJ who doesn’t have to drive this morning please don’t. And those that do, please drive slow,” New Jersey Governor Chris Christie posted on Twitter.
–Connecticut: Highways closed Monday evening but were set to re-open at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
–New Jersey: A ban on driving in the state was lifted after daybreak on Tuesday.
–New York City: Roads, including bridges and tunnels into the city, closed at 11 p.m. Monday but were reopened Tuesday morning. A statewide ban on suburban counties was also lifted.
–Massachusetts: Roads closed at midnight, and cars parked on major roads in Boston after 6 p.m. were at risk of being towed.
–Philadelphia: Cars parked on major city streets after 6 p.m. were towed.
By plane: More than 4,600 flights on Tuesday were canceled, according to the tracker service FlightAware, on top of the more than 2,800 flights canceled on Monday. The three major airports in the New York area were among those most affected. Those cancellations will ripple out through the country and it will likely be days before service is back to usual.
–American Airlines and U.S. Airways: American is planning for only “very limited operations (on Tuesday) in the Northeast,” including in Boston, New York and Philadelphia. The airlines will let customers flying to or from two dozen airports in the region rebook reservations made for Monday and Tuesday without a fee. More from American. More from U.S. Airways.
–Delta Air Lines: The airline canceled all flights out of the three major New York-area on Tuesday after canceling approximately 600 flights scheduled for Monday. Customers were urged to rebook flights, and the airline said it would do so without no extra fee. More from Delta.
–Frontier Airlines: Customers traveling from airports in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and the Washington area may rebook without penalty. More from Frontier.
–JetBlue: Flights in and out of the Northeast were canceled on Tuesday, and customers were allowed to rebook. More from Jet Blue.
–Southwest Airlines: The airline said late Monday it had canceled at least 130 flights scheduled for Monday, 300 flights on Tuesday and 50 flights on Wednesday. It said customers traveling to and from the Northeast could reschedule without a fee. More from Southwest.
–Spirit Airlines: Travelers arriving at or departing from nine airports in the Northeast may reschedule their travel between now and February 3.
–United Airlines: The airline had limited operations on Monday and said it would cancel all flights on Tuesday at Newark (a key hub in its operations), LaGuardia and JFK, as well as Boston and Philadelphia.
–Virgin America: Travelers headed into or out of Boston, New York, Newark or Washington airports on Tuesday may change their reservation without fees. More from Virgin America.
–CNN’s Aaron Cooper, Stephanie Gallman and Rene Marsh contributed to this report