MIDTOWN — Heavy rain and snow caused more than 200 flight cancelations at area airports Wednesday morning as the season's first winter storm moved into New York during the most chaotic traveling day of the year, according to the Port Authority.
As of 9:30 a.m., LaGuardia Airport had 120 flight cancelations, while Newark Airport had 97, the agency said.
Both LaGuardia and Newark were experiencing more than three hours in delays for inbound flights Wednesday afternoon, according to Flight Aware, according to Flight Aware.
John F. Kennedy airport was experiencing an average of an hour and a half delays on inbound flights because of the weather.
The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for the area, predicting up to 5 inches of snow through Wednesday afternoon and evening. Strong wind gusts of up to 30 mph are also likely into the evening, according to the NWS.
The Port Authority is advising last-minute Thanksgiving travelers to allot extra time for getting to airports. The agency will provide additional workers to try to ease the chaos.
Nine of the 11 New Jersey Transit lines were experiencing service disruptions Wednesday afternoon because of “winter weather conditions,” according to njtransit.com. The transit line was offering system-wide cross-honoring because of the weather conditions.
All Long Island Rail Road lines were running on or close to schedule.
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was still scheduled to take place Thursday at 9 a.m. "rain, shine or snow," according to a Macy's spokesman. The balloon inflation was also still going on as planned in the slushy weather Wednesday.
A mix of rain and snow is expected to continue Thanksgiving morning, with rain lingering into the evening.
Snow flurries could resume around nighttime Thursday before finally letting up, according to the NWS.
Friday is expected to be mostly sunny with a high near 38 degrees.
