March 16 (Reuters) - More than 8,000 U.S. flights were

delayed or canceled Monday amid a series of storms impacting

airports along the East Coast and other major hubs.

The U.S. government said it was ordering federal employees

to leave offices by 2 p.m. EDT Monday because of the risks of

high winds and severe thunderstorms. A major winter storm was

also snarling flights across the Midwest and Great Lakes states.

The Federal Aviation Administration imposed ground stops at

Reagan Washington National and Charlotte airports and was

delaying flights at LaGuardia, Houston Bush, Newark and JFK

airports because of weather issues.