When will LaGuardia, JFK airport reopen? Winter weather advisory persists.

The New York area's JFK airport, LaGuardia airport, and Liberty airport all shut down after Christmas. Despite a winter weather advisory, the airports hope to open Monday.

UPDATE (2:45 p.m. ET): The Federal Aviation Administration has said that it expects LaGuardia airport to reopen at 4 p.m. and JFK airport and Liberty airport to reopen at 6 p.m.

A snow storm that covered the Northeastern US Sunday managed to pack its biggest punch right on some the nation's most heavily trafficked airports.

LaGuardia, JFK, and Liberty airports were all still closed Monday morning as residents of the region began digging out from the big blizzard, which dropped as much as 30 inches in parts of the Northeast.

The storm left thousands of would-be travellers stuck right after Christmas holiday. The air-travel delays were matched with slow road conditions and sometimes-stalled rail traffic after the holiday weekend.

The airports were hoping to reopen some time Monday afternoon. With no flights going in or out of John F. Kennedy and other New York area airports, the good news was that other airline hubs in the region, such as Boston's Logan Airport, remained open.

Still, the transportation snarls made the storm big news.

The storm targeted a region that makes up about 2 percent of US land but is home to about 20 percent of Americans. Snow density met population density. As hard-hit New Jersey dug out Monday morning, the state's public transit system revived, with delays of just 10 to 15 minutes, according to late-morning news reports.

The National Weather Service lifted an official blizzard advisory late in the morning Monday, as visibility improved but strong gusts of winds continued to pound pedestrians and carve snow into drifts.

Due to the strong winds, a winter weather advisory remained in effect.