US winter storm: Snow emergency declared in Northeast as 2200 flights canceled

A massive winter storm slammed the US northeast early on Saturday, prompting the declaration of a snow emergency in New York and New Jersey and disrupting airline travel nationwide.

In the wake of the storm, the National Weather Service immediately issued ice storm warnings throughout New York State and Connecticut.

Moreover, it is expected that weather conditions will further worsen, raising the prospects of the heaviest snowfall, up to a foot, for the Hudson Valley and Long Island.

Authorities across the regions have accelerated preparation to ward off this calamity, with streets and highways brined and snow ploughs put on standby.

According to Governor Kathy Hochul, New York City could be more susceptible to highest accumulations since 2022 as snowfall rates would be around 2 or more inches per hour along with treacherous road conditions.

Hochul said in a statement, “The safety of New Yorkers is my top priority, and I continue to urge extreme caution throughout the duration of this storm, advising residents to avoid unnecessary travel.”

Besides New York, the state of emergency is also declared in Pennsylvania, much of Massachusetts, and most of New Jersey’s areas.

Travel chaos driven by massive storm

As a result of the winter storm hitting several areas of the US, the residents have been facing disruptions in airline travel with mounting delays and flight cancellations.

As reported by the flight-tracking service FlightAware, more than 1600 inbound and outbound commercial flights within the US were canceled on Friday and more than 7800 faced delays due to worsening weather conditions. On Saturday, 650 more flights were canceled.

Three major airports including John F. Kennedy, Newark Liberty International and LaGuardia Airport witnessed the massive flight cancellations.

In addition, commercial vehicle restrictions were also issued for some roads and interstate highways in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

New Jersey's acting governor Tahesha Way said in a statement, "This storm will cause dangerous road conditions and impact holiday travel. We are urging travelers to avoid travel during the storm and allow crews to tend to roads.”