Weather may thwart travel in some areas

Messy weather could mess up holiday travel across large parts of the nation today.

And northern and western Virginia could see a light wintry mix of sleet, freezing rain or drizzle early this morning, making driving hazardous, the National Weather Service warned.

Warming temperatures after sunrise -- reaching the upper 50s in Richmond today -- should quickly melt any frozen precipitation that falls.

With a series of winter storms trundling across the county, "if you're on the West or East coasts, it's not looking too good for travel," said meteorologist Josh Newhard with AccuWeather in State College, Pa.

And "Chicago could be somewhat messy over the next few days," said Richmond International Airport spokesman Troy Bell. "Chicago could be the problem child."

When major hub airports such as Chicago's O'Hare are throttled by bad weather, airline flight delays and cancellations cascade through the U.S. air-travel system.

The New York airports and other northeastern airports could also see snow for Christmas Eve, while California is pelted with rain and the Pacific Northwest gets snow, forecasters said.

But, said meteorologist Fred Johnson with the National Weather Service's Aviation Weather Center in Kansas City, Mo., "I wouldn't say it's going to be a record delay day."

The really nasty weather, Johnson said, should largely fall between -- not on -- the nation's big hub airports today.

Rail travel in the Northeast Corridor looks like a go today. "Right now our service is running fine along the Northeast," said Amtrak spokeswoman Tracy Connell in Washington. "Our operations center . . . is always keeping an eye on the weather situation across the country."

Travelers farther South today may see some rain, but warmer air will stave off chances for icy precipitation.

Freezing rain made driving hazardous yesterday across parts of the nation's midsection, including Kansas, Illinois, Kentucky and Arkansas.

The Chicago Department of Aviation said more than 250 flights were canceled at O'Hare International Airport yesterday because of the weather, and many others were delayed.

Of the 10 flights canceled or delayed at Richmond International Airport yesterday, nine were to or from Chicago, Bell said.

After being jammed Sunday and Monday with snow-stranded travelers, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the Pacific Northwest's largest, saw most of its air service restored Monday.

Amtrak was getting its passenger train service in the Pacific Northwest back on track yesterday, and Interstate 84 east of Portland reopened yesterday morning after snow removal crews worked through the night.

Contact Peter Bacqué at (804) 649-6813 or .