The United States saw its heaviest snowfall in nearly four years after a powerful winter storm swept across parts of the north-east United States, disrupting daily life and holiday travel.
New York City’s
Central Park recorded 4.3 inches (11cm) of snow, the highest level since January 2022, according to the US National Weather Service (NWS). In other parts of New York state, snowfall reached as much as 7.5 inches. By early Saturday, between six and 10 inches of snow had fallen from Syracuse in central New York to Long Island in the south-east.
Neighbouring states were also badly affected. New Jersey declared a state of emergency, while Connecticut reported 9.1 inches of snow in Fairfield County. Some communities across the region saw snowfall of up to 10 inches.
Emergencies declared as storm hits
Ahead of the storm, New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency in more than half of the state’s counties. In New Jersey, Acting Governor Tahesha Way announced a statewide emergency, warning of dangerous weather conditions including heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain.
Officials urged people to avoid unnecessary travel and allow road crews to clear highways safely. Restrictions were placed on commercial vehicles on several major roads in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Over 1000 flights cancelled
The storm caused widespread disruption to air travel. Nearly 700 domestic flights were cancelled on Saturday, mostly in the New York area, while more than 3,000 flights were delayed nationwide. From Friday night, at least 1,500 flights were cancelled, according to FlightAware.
Airports including John F Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty issued snow warnings, cautioning passengers about delays. Around 2,100 international flights scheduled to depart from or arrive in the US on Saturday were also cancelled.
To ease the impact, major airlines such as American Airlines, United Airlines and JetBlue waived rebooking fees for affected passengers.
What is the situation now?
Forecasters said the storm was fast-moving and will weaken by Saturday. “The storm is definitely winding down,” an NWS forecaster told the Associated Press, adding that only light flurries remained across parts of the region.
In New York City, around four inches of snow fell overnight into Saturday. By morning, road and air conditions were slowly improving. In Times Square, workers used shovels and snowblowers to clear slush-covered streets and pavements.
Despite improving conditions, the National Weather Service issued warnings for hazardous travel from the Great Lakes to the northern Mid-Atlantic and southern New England. Ice storm warnings were also in effect across parts of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, with risks of power outages and tree damage.
Authorities continued to urge caution as the region recovered from the storm.
