Paralyzing snow, wicked cold and frustrated travellers -- it's no wonder its being called the worst storm of the year

Wednesday, January 22, 2014, 7:39 PM -

It's safe to say that when it comes to wicked snowstorms, we're not alone. 

The U.S. Northeast struggled to dig out of a winter storm Wednesday that swirled up the coast, disrupting government work in Washington and leaving behind bitter cold that sapped fuel supplies. 

The huge storm stretched from Kentucky to New England but hit hardest along the heavily populated East Coast between Philadelphia and Boston. Snow began falling at midmorning Tuesday in Philadelphia and dumped as much as 35 cm by Wednesday morning, with New York seeing almost as much. Manalapan, New Jersey, had the highest snowfall reading with nearly 40 cm.

STORM WATCH: Blizzard Blasts Atlantic Canada

The storm, which dropped more than 25 cm of snow in parts of Massachusetts, largely spared Boston and areas to the west and north of the city. 

Federal workers in Washington who got a snow day Tuesday were getting a two-hour delay on Wednesday. About 3,000 commercial flights were cancelled Tuesday into and out of some of the nation's busiest airports, including in Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston, where Logan Airport advised passengers to expect extremely limited domestic service at least through Wednesday morning. 

About 1,400 flights were cancelled nationwide Wednesday, according to according to flight-tracking site flightaware.com.

At New York's LaGuardia Airport, congested even on a good day, a television monitor displayed a litany of cancelled flights. Crowds of people who had been hoping to fly out instead gathered around ticket counters trying to make alternate arrangements. 

The storm was a conventional one that developed off the coast and moved its way up the Eastern Seaboard, pulling in cold air from the Arctic. Unlike the epic freeze of two weeks ago, it was not caused by a kink in the polar vortex, the winds that circulate around the North Pole. 

Nonetheless, overnight freezing temperatures were expected in Philadelphia and New York, with wind chills making it feel even colder. The frigid air extended to Kentucky, which was forecast to see similar temperatures and subzero wind chills.

With files from The Associated Press