Flights were grounded and ferry services cancelled as the Island was whipped by the tail end of a storm causing chaos in the US.

Homes and businesses battened down the hatches as high winds and torrential rain pummelled the Island. And more downpours are expected as Bermuda is buffeted by one of the worst storms to hit the United States in 15 years.

Along the U.S. eastern seaboard, thousands were evacuated from flooded homes and coastal areas as the storm raged forth. A record 5.51 inches of rainfall was recorded in New York, breaking the previous 1.8 inches set more than a century ago in 1906.

Meanwhile, more than 300,000 homes were left without power and Maine, West Virginia and New Jersey declared a state of emergency.

In Bermuda, the Weather Service issued a storm warning as gale force winds gusted at up to 50 mph yesterday. This was downgraded to a gale warning at 2pm after winds dropped to 30 mph. The Bermuda Maritime Operations Centre said it had not received any reports of vessels in trouble, however, a cruise liner from Miami carrying 3,800 passengers and 1,207 crew was forced to bypass the island due to the weather.

The Navigator of the Seas continued on its journey to Cork, Ireland, cancelling its scheduled stop. Meanwhile at the airport, hundreds of passengers were grounded. Yesterday’s renaming of Bermuda International Airport to L.F. Wade International Airport had an inauspicious start as high winds resulted in a minimal service.

American Airlines cancelled flights between Bermuda and New York, US Airways stopped its Philadelphia service, and all Delta and Continental Airlines flights were cancelled.

Airport manager James Howes said yesterday: “The jetBlue service from JFK did operate today and we also had a charter flight, TNT, from Boston to come in, so some flights are operating, but others are cancelled.”

He advised anyone travelling today to check with their airline first for further cancellations.

On the roads, the Government issued a warning to motorists and cyclists using the Causeway. It urged those using the crossing “to exercise extreme caution while travelling across the bridge”.

The Public Transport Board said there were no bus service cancellations, however the Ferry Terminal cancelled all journeys between St George’s and Hamilton.

Services between Watford Bridge and Hamilton were also stopped after the first service at 7.15am.

A spokesman said last night: “We cancelled them early in the morning due to the waves and high winds.”

The ferry schedule is expected to resume today.

At Coral Beach, hundreds of tennis fans faced a four and half hour delay to yesterday’s fixtures at the 14th Annual XL Bermuda Open tennis tournament.

Torrential rain stopped play until 3.30 p.m., with the first round doubles match of Bermudian Andy Bray and partner Dekel Valtzer (Israel) against Benedikt Dorsch (Germany) and Sergiy Stakhovsky (Ukraine) postponed until this morning.

Despite the downpouring however, tournament manager Zoe Mulholland said spectators seemed to be enjoying themselves.

“We had some people who didn’t show up because of the rain but we didn’t turn anyone away. Everyone had lunch and milled about for a few hours,” she said.

“We’re keeping our eye on the weather with our Doplar radar. When the rain comes it’s par for the course, so we’re always prepared.”

Although more heavy rain is expected today and a gale warning remains in place, the storm is expected to wane tomorrow.