People expecting to travel to or from the East Coast and the Midwest this President’s Day weekend got some cold news Friday: Snow, ice and poor visibility led to flight cancellations and school closures from Chicago to New York.

NEARLY 300 flights were canceled at O’Hare International and Midway airports in Chicago. In New York, LaGuardia reported the most trouble of the city’s three major airports — delays of two to three hours for Midwest arrivals and departures.
 
In Detroit, Northwest Airlines canceled 156 flights scheduled to arrive or depart Friday from its hub, saying it did so to reduce potential gridlock. “Even if we don’t get the amount of snow predicted, we know there’s going to be some delays,” Northwest spokeswoman Kathy Peach said.
 
The airline began calling affected passengers Thursday night. Continental Airlines reduced flights to and from its Cleveland and New York hubs. Other airports, such as Philadelphia International, felt the ripple of delays and cancellations because of the problems elsewhere.