WASHINGTON, Nov 26 — Many holiday travelers in the United States were stuck at airports on the final day of Thanksgiving weekend after more than 1,240 flights were cancelled because of a blizzard that swept across the Midwest, according to weather officials.

Blizzard warnings were issued in areas stretching across northeast Kansas to Chicago, with snow already falling in some regions including Kansas, central Missouri, southeast Nebraska and southern Iowa, said Bob Oravec, meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

The storm was bringing winds from 48kph to 56kph, with gusts of up to 72kph to 80kph. Snowfall totals were expected to be 15cm to 30cm across those areas.

Oravec said Kansas and Chicago were likely to see "high impact” blizzard conditions later today.

More than 1,240 fights headed to or from the United States were cancelled by this morning, according to FlightAware.com.

Most of the cancellations were of flights departing or arriving at Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Chicago Midway Airport, which combined saw a total of about 900 flights cancelled.

At Kansas City International Airport, nearly 200 flights were cancelled. — Reuters