Travel ban and blizzard warnings as major storm hits north-east US

A massive snowstorm pummelled the US on Monday, forcing millions of people to stay home amid strong wind and blizzard warnings, transportation shutdowns and school and business closures.

The storm dumped up to two feet (60 centimetres) of snow in parts of the metropolitan north-east as accumulations from an earlier snowfall had just melted away — except for grey mountainous piles in car parks and along the side of roads.

Officials declared emergencies from Delaware to Massachusetts, and hundreds of thousands of people grappled with power failure from downed electrical lines.

Even as the snow moved northward and tapered off in other areas, the National Weather Service said it is tracking another storm that could bring more snow to the region later this week.

The weather service referred to Monday’s storm as a “classic bomb cyclone/nor’easter off the north-east coast”.

A bomb cyclone happens when a storm’s pressure falls by a certain amount within a 24-hour period, occurring mainly in the autumn and winter when frigid Arctic air can reach the south and clash with warmer temperatures.

New York City and Boston cancelled public school classes for Monday, while Philadelphia switched to online learning.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani called it the “first old-school snow day since 2019″.

But class would be back in person on Tuesday, he said.

In Mystic, Connecticut, where at least two feet (60 centimetres) of snow has fallen so far, crews at the Mystic Seaport Museum prepared to clear snow from a fleet of historic ships, including the 113-foot-long Charles W Morgan, a wooden whaling ship from the 19th century American merchant fleet.

Shannon McKenzie, vice president of watercraft operations and preservation, said shipyard staff will clear the snow by hand using rubber or plastic shovels because machinery or metal shovels could damage the boats.

New York, Philadelphia and other cities, as well as several states, declared emergencies.

More than 5,000 flights in and out of the US were cancelled for Monday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.

Most were cancelled in New York, New Jersey and Boston.

Rhode Island’s TF Green International Airport announced on Monday that it was temporarily ending all airport operations.

Public transit ground to a halt in some areas, while DoorDash suspended deliveries in New York City overnight.

Storm-related power outages plunged more than 500,000 customers into darkness along the East Coast early Monday, including more than 212,000 customers in Massachusetts and 128,000 customers in New Jersey, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide.

About 10,000 customers were without power on Monday morning on suburban Long Island.

New York governor Kathy Hochul said utility crews would restore power as soon as possible, but winds of 50 mph (kph 80) or higher could delay action.

Commuters in and around New York felt the strain.

In New York City, several subway lines reported severe delays, while the Long Island Rail Road was fully suspended until further notice.

Some Metro-North commuter trains between New York City and its suburbs were delayed by up to an hour.

New Jersey Transit suspended bus and rail services “until further notice”.

The weather service said strong wind gusts could cause whiteout conditions and warned of a “potentially historic/destructive storm” south-east of the Boston-Providence corridor.

“Winds like that, combined with heavy, wet snow, are a recipe for damaged trees and prolonged power outages,” said Bryce Williams, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Boston office.

“That’s what we’re most concerned with, is the combination of those extreme snow amounts with that wind.”

Outreach workers meanwhile tried to coax homeless New Yorkers into shelters and warming centres.

Various landmarks and cultural institutions were closed on Monday, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art and the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC.

Broadway shows were cancelled on Sunday evening.