New York City has been brought to a standstill as a historic winter storm batters the northeast United States, prompting the city to ban non-essential travel and causing widespread flight cancellations. The blizzard, the first in nine years for the city, has already left thousands without power and forced multiple states to declare emergencies.
The travel ban in New York City took effect at 21:00 local time on Sunday (02:00 GMT Monday) and will last until 12:00 local time Monday (17:00 GMT), covering all streets, highways, and bridges except for emergency services. Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that schools would remain closed and urged residents to stay indoors as the city braces for up to 28 inches (70cm) of snow in some areas.
Forecasters report that the storm is affecting 59 million people across the US northeast, from North Carolina to northern Maine, with winter storm warnings also issued for parts of eastern Canada. Cody Snell, a meteorologist at the US National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center, said: “While we do get plenty of these nor’easters that produce heavy snow and strong impacts, it’s been several years since we saw one of this magnitude across this large of a region in this very populated part of the country.”
As of midnight local time on Monday (05:00 GMT), snow has already blanketed much of the northeast, with Manorville, New York, and Howell, New Jersey, reporting 10 inches (25cm) of accumulation. The storm is expected to produce 2–3 inches (5–7cm) of snowfall per hour, creating “nearly impossible” travel conditions described as “extremely treacherous” by the NWS.
The storm has disrupted air travel, with over 5,500 flights cancelled across the US and hundreds more delayed, according to FlightAware. Power outages have affected more than 200,000 homes and businesses, including 60,000 in New Jersey alone, while tens of thousands more are without electricity in Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for the entire state, placing 100 National Guard members on standby. She warned: “This will be something the likes of which we’ve not seen in years. People will be in the dark. Long Island and New York City and lower Hudson are literally in the direct eye of the storm.”
The storm has also caused major disruptions to daily life: all Broadway shows on Sunday evening were cancelled, and the New York Racing Association called off eight horse races at the Aqueduct Racetrack. Similar emergency measures and travel restrictions have been implemented in Rhode Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, with school closures and government office delays reported across the region.
In Canada, Nova Scotia’s east coast faces its own severe conditions under an amber weather warning, signaling possible widespread power outages, roof damage, and falling debris until early Tuesday.
Ademide Adebayo
Follow us on:
