More than 8,000 US flights delayed, canceled due to major storms

March 16 (Reuters) - More than 8,000 U.S. flights were delayed or canceled Monday amid a series of storms impacting airports along the East Coast and other major hubs.

The U.S. government said it was ordering federal employees to leave offices by 2 p.m. EDT Monday because of the risks of high winds and severe thunderstorms. A major winter storm was also snarling flights across the Midwest and Great Lakes states. The Federal Aviation Administration imposed ground stops at Reagan Washington National and Charlotte airports and was delaying flights at LaGuardia, Houston Bush, Newark and JFK airports because of weather issues.