(CNN) -- Severe winter weather was creating Christmas week travel headaches across the country Monday, canceling flights and closing major highways.

Traffic backs up Monday on a Chicago, Illinois-area highway after an early-morning accident.

Air travelers heading for three major East Coast airports  -- Newark-Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport in New York -- faced delays of almost two hours on Monday, the FAA said.

More than 130 miles of the New York State Thruway were shut down for a time Monday morning from Henrietta, near Rochester, to the Pennsylvania state line. Dozens of vehicles slid off the icy roadway, CNN affiliate WIVB-TV in Buffalo, New York, reported.

Even after the highway was reopened, officials warned of icy pavement and poor visibility from blowing snow.  See the scenes of winter across the U.S. »

According to the National Weather Service, Buffalo got a record 7.4 inches of snow on Sunday, and several more inches were in the forecast for Monday, the first full day of winter.

Police agencies in western New York were advising motorists not to leave home. Two New York towns, Wales and Lancaster, banned travel altogether, WIVB reported. iReport.com: What's it like where you are?

Schools were closed Monday in Boston, Massachusetts, as icy roadways prevented buses from operating, CNN affiliate WCVB-TV reported.

On the other side of the country, long lines formed before dawn Monday at airline counters at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where two major carriers, Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, suspended service Sunday.

The Federal Aviation Administration was reporting no delays at the airport Monday afternoon, but Alaska and Horizon said they would only resume limited operations.

Some travelers may have to wait until midweek or later to get flights out of the airport, CNN affiliate KOMO-TV reported. Supplies were running low at airport concessions for those enduring the wait, the Seattle station said.

To the south, travelers also spent the night in the Portland, Oregon, airport after airlines canceled many flights on Sunday. Airlines canceled more than 100 flights at Portland International Airport on Monday, CNN affiliate KATU-TV reported.  Watch a roundup of the worst winter weather »

More than 11 inches of snow was on the ground Monday morning in Portland, CNN affiliate KGW-TV reported, an amount not seen since 1968. Vehicles on all Portland roads were required to have snow chains, KGW said, but drivers were advised to stay off roads completely.

Seattle's Amtrak station also was packed with stranded holiday travelers after the winter storm stopped trains in their tracks Sunday in the Pacific Northwest.  Watch driving woes in Walla Walla, Washington »

In Marysville, Washington, workers at an industrial complex Monday morning found the roof of a building there had collapsed, apparently because of heavy snow, according to CNN affiliate KIRO-TV. The structure is used by a company that manufactures steel buildings; no injuries were reported.

The icy cold in Indianapolis, Indiana, likely caused water pipes to burst at Martin University early Monday, officials told CNN affiliate WRTV-TV.

"We had just installed brand new computers in the building, and so we're really just still trying to assess the damages to the university," university spokeswoman Danita Hoskin told WRTV.

It was 2 degrees, with a wind chill of minus 17 degrees, at 7 a.m. Monday in Indianapolis, according to the National Weather Service.

In Greene County, Ohio, near Dayton, a 79-year-old woman died after being found outside her home on Sunday, CNN affiliate WHIO-TV reported. It was 6 degrees in the area at noon Monday.

Car travel was often dangerous Sunday in parts of the northern United States.

In Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, a newspaper deliveryman died of heart failure caused by hypothermia a day after his car became stuck in a snowdrift on his route early Sunday, officials told CNN affiliate WISC-TV.

A snowplow driver found Donald L. Blum, 54, of Monticello, about seven hours
What caused damage at an Indiana university? What city has 11 inches of snow? Where did the woman freeze? Who froze outside of Ohio home? how much snow? what causes damage at an indiana university? Where was the delay reported? Where did broken water pipes cause damage? how long are delays?
winter weather Portland, Greene County, Ohio, 79-year-old woman More than 11 inches icy cold Newark-Liberty International Airport in New Jersey Martin University almost two hours
question: What caused damage at an Indiana university?, answer: winter weather | question: What city has 11 inches of snow?, answer: Portland, | question: Where did the woman freeze?, answer: Greene County, Ohio, | question: Who froze outside of Ohio home?, answer: 79-year-old woman | question: how much snow?, answer: More than 11 inches | question: what causes damage at an indiana university?, answer: icy cold | question: Where was the delay reported?, answer: Newark-Liberty International Airport in New Jersey | question: Where did broken water pipes cause damage?, answer: Martin University | question: how long are delays?, answer: almost two hours