Travel 'nearly impossible' in parts of U.S. northeast, with thousands of flight cancellations

Millions of people in young house of york metropolis and a big belt of the northeastern U.S. Were stuck at home under road travel bans and blizzard warnings on Monday as heavy snow and strong winds intensified, creating whiteout conditions in the densely populated region.

Snow fell at a rate of five to 7.6 centimetres an hour early Monday from New York through Massachusetts. Some areas have gotten well over 30 centimetres of snow since Sunday, along with wind gusts of more than 48 km/h and low visibility.

Long Island MacArthur Airport reported 50 centimetres of snow as of Monday morning. Freehold, N.J., had 48 centimetres.

The U.S. National Weather Service called travel conditions "nearly impossible."

Cellphones across New York City received wailing push alerts Sunday night announcing a ban on non-emergency travel on all streets through noon Monday because of "dangerous blizzard conditions." Rhode Island and New Jersey implemented similar restrictions.

Blizzard warnings stretched from Maryland to Maine.

Emergencies were declared in New York, Philadelphia and other cities, as well as several states, stretching from Delaware to Massachusetts, as officials mobilized readiness efforts.

"The combination of heavy snowfall and strong winds will continue to produce blizzard conditions along the northeastern seaboard," the weather service said Monday. "Sharply reduced visibility will make travel extremely treacherous across these areas."

More than 5,000 flights in and out of the United States were cancelled for Monday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Most were cancelled in New York, New Jersey and Boston.

Toronto's Pearson airport said in a social media post that it was "monitoring the U.S. Northeast as airlines make schedule adjustments and cancel some flights due to a winter storm in the region."

"Passengers should check directly with their airline for the latest flight information prior to coming to the airport," the airport said.

The storm caused power outages that left more than 300,000 customers in the dark along the East Coast early Monday, including about 115,000 customers without power in New Jersey, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide.

In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani cancelled in-person and virtual classes for city schools on Monday, calling it the "first old-school snow day since 2019."

"And to kids across New York City, you have a very serious mission if you choose to accept it: Stay cozy," he said.

Even DoorDash announced it was suspending deliveries in New York City overnight.

Meanwhile, outreach workers worked to coax homeless New Yorkers off the street and into shelters and warming centres.

Various landmarks and cultural institutions announced closures Monday, from New York's Museum of Modern Art to Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Broadway shows were cancelled Sunday evening.

The storm could possibly meet the definition of a bomb cyclone, said Frank Pereira, another weather service meteorologist. That's when a storm drops at least 24 millibars in pressure in 24 hours.

"We're expecting it to drop by that magnitude at least over the course of the next 24 hours," Pereira said. "I think when all is said and done, it will meet the definition of a bomb cyclone."

With the storm zeroing in, John Berlingieri scrapped plans for a family trip to Puerto Rico. Instead he was preparing his company, Berrington Snow Management, for what could well be a mammoth task: Clearing snow from millions of square feet of asphalt surrounding shopping malls and industrial parks across Long Island.

Employees spent the last few days recharging batteries on the company's 40 front-end loaders and replacing windshield wipers on snow-removal vehicles, before resting up Saturday.

"I'm anticipating at least one week of work around the clock," Berlingieri said. "We're going to work 24 to 36 hours straight, sleep for a few hours and then go back."

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