Authorities across the northeastern United States ordered residents to stay off the roads and closed schools as a powerful winter storm swept through the region, threatening up to two feet of snow in some areas.
In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that streets, highways and bridges would be closed from Sunday night through midday Monday, declaring a state of emergency. He described the storm as one of a scale not seen in the past decade and urged residents to avoid nonessential travel. The restrictions exempt essential workers and emergency travel.
The National Weather Service warned that blizzard conditions would quickly materialise from Maryland to southeastern New England, creating extremely treacherous travel conditions. Snowfall rates of two to three inches per hour were forecast at the peak of the storm, with nearly 54 million people in its path.
Visibility dropped sharply in Lower Manhattan, where skyscrapers in the Wall Street area were barely visible from Brooklyn as heavy snow and freezing fog set in. Power outages were also reported, with nearly 80,000 customers in New Jersey left without electricity early Monday, according to outage trackers. More than 5,000 flights were cancelled nationwide, data from FlightAware showed.
In Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu ordered all public schools and municipal buildings closed, urging residents to stay home to support public safety efforts. Kathy Hochul, governor of New York, warned that the worst was yet to come and advised residents to stock up on essentials and remain indoors.
Forecasters also cautioned that moderate to major coastal flooding could affect areas from Delaware to Cape Cod in Massachusetts as strong winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour battered the coastline.
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