Caleb Seely rides a unicycle on a snow covered sidewalk as he heads home after helping shovel out his brother's driveway during a winter storm, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019, in Portland, Maine. Extra knobby tires on Seely's ride provided traction on a day when snow, sleet and freezing rain kept most motorists indoors. Parts of New England residents are bracing for up to 18 inches of snow. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
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BOSTON (AP) - A major winter storm brought some of the coldest temperatures of the season and blanketed a wide swath of the country in snow as it wreaked havoc on air travel and caused dangerously icy conditions throughout New England on Sunday.
The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings or advisories for part or all of at least 15 states stretching from southeast Missouri to the northern tip of Maine ahead of the weekend storm.
More than 1,500 flights were canceled nationwide Sunday, with Boston's Logan Airport among the hardest hit, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking company.
Typically bustling security lines, ticketing counters and baggage claims were largely deserted Sunday morning at Logan Airport, but some stranded passengers lingered.
Xavi Ortega, a 32-year old engineer from Spain, slept overnight at the airport with his wife after their 10:30 p.m. flight to Barcelona Saturday was canceled. He said the couple won't be able to get onto another flight until Sunday night.
"We've been sleeping, playing Candy Crush," Ortega said.
The heavily populated coast from New York to Boston largely escaped major snowfall Sunday but saw plummeting temperatures as snow gave way to icy rain and sleet in parts.
Manhattan saw mostly rain and cities along Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts' coast recorded two to five inches of snow.
Mountain regions saw significantly more, with the Adirondacks in upstate New York registering up to 20 inches while western Massachusetts' Berkshires saw as much as 10 and parts of northern New England were on track to see up to two feet of snow.
Nicholas Nicolet and his 6-year-old son Rocco welcomed the fresh powder as they cross-country skied on the sidewalks of Montpelier, Vermont early Sunday morning during the storm.
"We think it's great," said Nicholas Nicolet.
Meteorologists warned the primary concern heading into Monday is plunging temperatures that will be some of the coldest felt so far this season.
Wind chills were expected to hit in the teens in the New York City area, 25 below in Albany and down to 40 below in the Adirondacks.
In New England, they're expected to fall to as low as 20 below zero around Boston, 30 below zero in the Berkshires and as low as 35 below zero in parts of Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire.
Officials warned people to limit their time outside to prevent frostbite and avoid treacherous travel conditions. They also said places would see strong wind gusts, flooding and power outages.
"It's life-threatening," said Ray O'Keefe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albany. "These are dangerous conditions that we're going to be in and they're prolonged, right through tomorrow."
As ice accumulated on trees and power lines Sunday, utilities in Connecticut reported more than 20,000 customers without power.
"We had more freezing rain and sleet than we expected," said Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin as crews across the state raced to clear and treat major roadways to prevent dangerous black ice conditions.
Amtrak canceled trains across the Midwest and Northeast over the weekend, but said full service would resume Monday.
A ferry service route across Lake Champlain between Vermont and New York was also closed Sunday and flights were mostly cancelled at Vermont's Burlington International Airport and New Hampshire's Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.
The powerful, wide-ranging storm was caused by the clash of an Arctic high-pressure system with a low-pressure system coming through the Ohio Valley.
It caused travel problems as it dumped up to 10 inches of snow on parts of the Midwest Saturday.
In Chicago, a plane skidded from a slick runway at O'Hare International Airport. No injuries were reported. In Kansas, a snowplow driver was killed when his vehicle rolled over. And in southeastern Missouri, slippery conditions caused a 15-vehicle crash on Interstate 55.
President Donald Trump urged Americans affected by the winter storm to "be careful" in a tweet early Sunday. But, as he's done in the past, Trump conflated the short-term weather phenomenon with longer-term climate change.
The White House's own National Climate Assessment recently rejected the idea that a particular plunge in temperatures can cast uncertainty on whether Earth is warming.
"Amazing how big this system is," Trump tweeted. "Wouldn't be bad to have a little of that good old fashioned Global Warming right now!"
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Associated Press reporters Bob Salsberg in Boston, Deepti Hajela in New York, and Lisa Rathke in Montpelier contributed to this story.
John Ott clears snow on Madison Avenue in Pittsfield, Mass., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019. A major winter storm that has brought some of the coldest temperatures of the season covered a large swath of the U.S. in snow as it wreaked havoc on air travel and caused slick road conditions throughout New England Sunday. (Ben Garver/The Berkshire Eagle via AP)
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Will Roberts and his wife Julia Chafets snowshoe in downtown Montpelier, Vt., during a snowstorm on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019. Chafets is pulling a sled carrying their daughter. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)
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Motorists try to fix their windshield wipers during a winter storm, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019, in Portland, Maine. Snow, sleet and freezing rain is making travel hazardous throughout much of New England. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
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Julia Beebe, center, Shannon Amore, left, and Jessica Lynch brave a winter storm to keep a lunch date, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019, in Portland, Maine. Scarves, hoods and gloves were necessary for New England residents venturing outdoors as the region endures a storm that can dump up to 18 inches of snow. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
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James Spanos pushes a cart of his belongings on a snow-covered street during a winter storm, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019, in Portland, Maine. Scarves, hoods and gloves were necessary for New England residents venturing outdoors as the region endures a storm that can dump up to 18 inches of snow. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
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Jose De Jesus, of Norwood, Mass., shovels snow and slush in front of his home, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019, in Norwood. A major winter storm that blanketed most of the Midwest with snow earlier in the weekend barreled toward New England Sunday, where it was expected to cause transportation havoc ranging from slick and clogged roads to hundreds of cancelled airline flights. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
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Airline passengers wait out a major snowstorm as flights were canceled or severely delayed at Albany International Airport in Colonie, N.Y., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019. A major winter storm that blanketed much of the Midwest with snow earlier in the weekend is barreling toward New England, where it is expected to wreak transportation havoc from slick and clogged roads to hundreds of canceled airline flights. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)
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Crews clear snow at the Albany International Airport in Colonie, N.Y., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019. A major winter storm that blanketed much of the Midwest with snow earlier in the weekend is barreling toward New England, where it is expected to wreak transportation havoc from slick and clogged roads to hundreds of canceled airline flights. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)
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Bill Moore cross-country skis down a street on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019, in Montpelier, Vt. A major winter storm that blanketed most of the Midwest with snow earlier in the weekend barreled toward New England Sunday, where it was expected to cause transportation havoc ranging from slick and clogged roads to hundreds of cancelled airline flights. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)
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A couple walks through Times Square in the early morning Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019, in New York. The National Weather Service said on Saturday that a dramatic drop in temperatures could turn the weekend's rainfall into ice before Monday. (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen)
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A man stands on the boardwalk at Brooklyn Bridge Park Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019, in New York. The National Weather Service said on Saturday that a dramatic drop in temperatures could turn the weekend's rainfall into ice before Monday. (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen).
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Visitors walk to the Hotel on North in Pittsfield, Mass., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019. A major winter storm that has brought some of the coldest temperatures of the season covered a large swath of the U.S. in snow as it wreaked havoc on air travel and caused slick road conditions throughout New England Sunday. (Ben Garver/The Berkshire Eagle via AP)
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Miguel Delao, of Norwood, Mass., front, shovels snow in front of his home, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019, in Norwood. A major winter storm that blanketed most of the Midwest with snow earlier in the weekend barreled toward New England Sunday, where it was expected to cause transportation havoc ranging from slick and clogged roads to hundreds of cancelled airline flights. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
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Nicholas Nicolet and his son Rocco cross-country ski on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019, in Montpelier, Vt. A major winter storm that blanketed most of the Midwest with snow earlier in the weekend barreled toward New England Sunday, where it was expected to cause transportation havoc ranging from slick and clogged roads to hundreds of cancelled airline flights. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)
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