Travelers heading to the East Coast thought they were in the clear, flying several days after Sandy made landfall, only to learn Mother Nature struck again.
"We're flying through Chicago, so we're hoping we at least make it to Chicago tonight. I know they were having snow and sleet yesterday," said traveler Jodi Belke.
A nor'easter brought insult to injury for the Northeast, dumping snow, sleet and wind on an already-battered region. More than 2,200 homes in Manchester, N.J. were without power. Some who had waited for days without power because of Sandy were plunged back into darkness in near-freezing temperatures.
"We were a little bit worried. Our family hasn't had power for the last week, and it just came on on Sunday. We have our carry-ons packed very well, so that if we spend the night in Chicago, we're good to go," Belke said.
More than 2,000 flights were canceled for Wednesday and Thursday, mainly to and from Newark, LaGuardia and JFK. Frustrated travelers want the airlines to come up with better plans for flights affected by extreme weather conditions.
"I think that the airlines should probably have a contingency plan when they know the weather is coming for days and days on end," said traveler Melissa Barron. "My husband happens to be an air traffic controller, so I'm a little bit familiar with how they do do their arranging and canceling of flights and what not."
Travelers were asked to check their flight statuses before heading to the airport.
Those whose flights were not canceled for the East Coast were worried about what the region would look like after being hit so hard by two storms.
Sandy killed more than 100 people in 10 states, with most of the victims in New York and New Jersey. Long lines persisted at gas stations, but were shorter than they were days ago.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
