Northwest storms snarl flights, roads and Amtrak trains

If you’re traveling to or from Seattle, Portland or other Northwest U.S. areas today, Dec. 22, prepare to wait or make alternate plans. Winter weather, which has included snow, freezing rain and high winds, is causing major flight delays and cancellations and slowing other transit this morning.

Seattle/Tacoma International Airport (SEA): At this key hub, where a snowstorm stranded hundreds of fliers Sunday, scores of departing flights were canceled between 7 and 8 a.m. this morning, according to Flightstats.com. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, which suspended service Sunday afternoon out of Seattle and Portland, said they would resume a limited schedule today. For updates, visit the Seattle airport website.

Washington roads: Some highways in the Seattle area and to the north had closed lanes or required snow chains, the Washington State Department of Transportation reported. In the city itself, buses were running reduced schedules, and officials warned of icy road conditions everywhere.

Train service: Amtrak canceled Cascades trains today and warned of lengthy delays on all routes that travel through the Pacific Northwest, including the long-distance Coast Starlight between Los Angeles and Seattle. Citing issues stemming from the the winter storm, it said Cascades trains were unable to use tracks between Eugene, Ore., and Vancouver, Canada.

—Jane Engle, assistant Los Angeles Times Travel editor

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This entry was posted on Monday, December 22, 2008 at 9:22 am by Jane Engle and is filed under Airline travel, Alaska, Business Travel, California, Frequent Flier, Los Angeles, News, Tips & Advice, Oregon, Pacific Northwest, Rail Travel, Washington, Winter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.