A winter storm battering the East Coast has caused travel chaos for thousands and left many Bermudians stranded at home and abroad.Some 3,500 flights in the US had been cancelled by yesterday evening, with another 1,200 predicted to be cancelled today, and airports from Toronto to New York was shut down as officials ordered people to stay indoors and ride out the storm.With the blizzard expected to dump more than two feet of snow on Boston alone, the Delta flights servicing Bermuda have been cancelled, while United Airlines, American Airlines and Air Canada have all grounded their flights as well. Airlines were unable to say when they might be able to start up again.Joe Simas of Meyer Shipping said last night that shipping routes would not be affected.Meanwhile, this weekend’s weather will be windy but “fairly typical for Bermuda in early February”, according to James Dodgson, the deputy director at the Bermuda Weather Service.Cancellations didn’t affect hotel bookings for yesterday or today, said Fairmont hotels marketing director Shelley Meszoly. However, tomorrow’s bookings were expected to suffer as a result of this weekend’s storm, she said.Mr Dodgson said the cold front from the Island’s west should move east across the Bermuda region this morning.“This is likely to be accompanied by some moderate to heavy showery rain and possible thunder,” he added.“Thereafter, drier and brighter conditions develop for Saturday. However, it will remain windy with the likelihood of gales developing, at least over parts of the marine area, later in the afternoon into the evening time. In addition to this, the developing northwest winds will draw in noticeably cooler air over the Island, with temperatures struggling into the low 60s by Sunday.”Tomorrow’s weather should be “mainly dry with plenty of sunshine”, he said. Winds are expected to gradually ease through the day.As of last night, a small craft warning was posted through this afternoon, and a gale warning remained in effect until this evening.Seas were forecast to become “very rough, possibly high” over the weekend before easing into early next week, Mr Dodgson said.At least five people were reported last night to have been killed by the severe winter weather. In Hamilton, Ontario an 80-year-old woman collapsed while shovelling her driveway. Provincial police said two men were killed in car crashes, one of them in a multi-vehicle collision in Pickering, east of Toronto.In Michigan two men died while shovelling snow.Useful website: www.weather.bm.