There have been up to 2000 flight cancellations and growing delays to air services as Hurricane Isabel battered the eastern seaboard of the United States.

The effects of the powerful storm saw many airports close, including all three serving Washington DC.

Although weather experts say Isabel is weakening and has been downgraded to a tropical storm, it is still bringing high winds and torrential rain to many areas of North Carolina and Virginia.

On Thursday, Washington became a ghost town as government offices, businesses and schools in the city closed. Bus and rail services in the capital were also halted as most people stayed in their homes.

Problems with air services will not be confined to the immediate area of the storm as the knock-on effect of flight cancellations spreads across the country. Those airports in the northeast US that stayed open were handling only a minimum number of flights.

There were weather problems in other areas of the US, too. A storm front stretching from Minneapolis to Houston is reported to be causing delays at airports in both cities.

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