Newark Airport
Flights have been cancelled to and from Newark Airport in New York (Reuters)

UK airports have cancelled flights to the east coast of the US ahead of the approaching winter storm Nemo.

Heathrow, Manchester and Edinburgh have all cancelled flights to New York and Boston due to the "crippling" weather conditions.

Nemo looks set to hit the east coast on Friday afternoon, with weather conditions becoming increasingly dangerous into Saturday.

The storm, which could see as much as three feet of snow fall, will affect areas from coastal Maine to northern New Jersey

Blizzard warnings are in effect in Portland, Maine, Boston, Hartford, Providence and New York City.

A spokesperson for Heathrow said it has so far cancelled 40 flights to the areas affected.

According to flight checker website FlightAware.com, Heathrow has cancelled 23 flights to the JFK and Newark Liberty Airport. Five flights from Heathrow have been cancelled to Boson.

So far 11 flights have been cancelled from New York to London, while two have been cancelled from Boston.

Today's flights to and from Manchester and New York have been cancelled, as have those for Edinburgh.

Dangerous winter storm

The Heathrow spokesperson said it is up to the individual airlines to reschedule flights and that it is not yet known how many flights will be cancelled tomorrow.

She advised people due to fly to the east coast to check their flights before going to the airport.

A statement from The Weather Channel said coastal flooding, heavy snow and strong winds were to be expected from Friday night.

"Damaging winds, with gusts over 70 mph, are expected on Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island," it said.

"Wind gusts over 50 mph are possible from southern coastal Maine to Long Island, including Boston, Portland, Maine and perhaps parts of the New York City metro.

"Power outages and downed tree limbs are likely in these areas. Whiteout conditions are possible in some areas due to the combination of high winds and heavy snow.

On Saturday strong winds are expected to continue, as well as further power outages anddowned trees.

Alan Dunham, meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said: "This is going to be a dangerous winter storm. Wherever you need to get to, get there by Friday afternoon and don't plan on leaving."

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