Heavy snow, poor visibility snarl flights, cause numerous traffic accidents

Heavy snow Saturday wreaked havoc on regional transportation systems, causing flight cancellations at Philadelphia International Airport, mass-transit delays, and a spike in motor-vehicle accidents.

The Federal Aviation Administration imposed a ground stop for several hours barring flights from taking off from the airport. Airport spokeswoman Mary Flannery said the action was taken because of the reduced visibility and high winds in the storm.

The FAA lifted the ground stop in the late afternoon, but about 20 percent of flights into and out of the airport were canceled, and flight delays persisted the rest of the day.

A winter storm warning is in effect until 9 a.m. Sunday. 4 to 7 inches of wet, heavy snow fell prior to the changeover into rain.

Forecasts called for an end to the punishment Sunday, with temperatures expected to reach the mid-40s and clearing skies, before turning much colder again Monday.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation dispatched about 400 trucks to work on area roads during the storm, laying down a new coat of salt on top of the residual material from Monday's storm.

"We put plenty of material down," said Charles Metzger, a PennDot spokesman.

Pennsylvania State Police reported numerous accidents on state roads, though few serious injuries were reported.

Troopers at the Avondale barracks in Chester County were handling up to seven accidents at once by Saturday afternoon. A barracks in Media reported a similarly busy afternoon.

The speed limit on the Pennsylvania Turnpike was reduced to 45 m.p.h. along much of its route, troopers said.

South Jersey experienced less snow than Pennsylvania, but there was still enough to turn roadways into rinks.

New Jersey State Police reported a major backup at the junction of Routes 42 and 55 due to spinouts. Speed limits were reduced to 35 m.p.h. on state roads in the southern part of the state.

SEPTA said numerous bus routes were detoured, and the Regional Rail system experienced some delays of up to 30 minutes.

Electric utilities reported scattered storm-related outages, but nothing extensive. Public Service Electric & Gas, New Jersey's largest utility, reported several thousand outages in northern New Jersey.

The Philadelphia Water Department blamed the freezing weather for a water-main break in Port Richmond on Saturday that forced dozens from their homes.

"The frigid temperature of the water going through the mains right now is causing a larger number of them to break," said John DiGiulio, a department spokesman.

The New York-area airports LaGuardia, JFK, and Newark had delays as the storm moved up the East Coast.

215-854-2947 @Maykuth

Alex Wigglesworth of Philly.com contributed to this article.