CLEVELAND, Ohio - Mother Nature is playing havoc with air travel today, as a major East Coast snowstorm forces flight cancellations across the country.

Meanwhile, at Cleveland Hopkins, a United Airlines flight from Washington, D.C., scheduled to land today at 12:28 p.m., was diverted to Columbus because of a heavy band of snow that passed over Northeast Ohio early this afternoon. The plane is expected to return to Cleveland later today.

A bigger problem for Northeast Ohio travelers: Winter storm Niko, which is piling up snow across the East Coast and has forced the cancellation of dozens of flights at Cleveland and Akron-Canton airports.

Flight-tracking website FlightAware says there are more than 4,000 cancellations and delays into and out of U.S. airports today. Airports most affected include LaGuardia, Newark and John F. Kennedy in the New York City area, Boston Logan, Philadelphia and Reagan National in Washington, D.C.

No matter where you're headed, best to follow this advice: Check with your airline before heading to the airport.

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