Nearly 9,000 flights have been canceled since Sunday, and hundreds of thousands are without power as a winter storm ravages the Northeast.
The National Weather Service reported 15 inches of snow in New York City and 22 inches in parts of Long Island early Monday morning. Over the weekend, the NWS estimated that parts of New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts could see up to 25 inches of snow.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared a state of emergency and a travel ban during a press conference on Sunday
“The state of emergency closes the streets, highways, and bridges of New York City for all traffic,” Mamdani said. The travel ban began at 9 p.m. Sunday and was scheduled to last until 12 p.m. on Monday.
In a video posted on social media, which appeared to show Mamdani FaceTiming a young female student, Mamdani said all NYC Public Schools will be closed on Monday for a snow day.
“No online school, no remote learning, full classic snow day,” he said.
Delivery apps including DoorDash and Grubhub also said they was suspending deliveries in NYC on Sunday night, with DoorDash extending its operational pause until 2 p.m. ET. Grubhub has since resumed service in the city.
Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Connecticut have also declared states of emergency, putting in place commercial vehicle bans and travel restrictions.
US airlines are canceling and delaying thousands of flights. As of Monday morning, airlines had canceled more than 9,000 flights and delayed over 9,000 since Sunday, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.
More than 650,000 customers were without electricity as of 12:00 p.m. ET on Monday, according to PowerOutage.com. Over 410,000 of those are based in Massachusetts and New Jersey.
On Monday morning, New York City’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports had the highest number of cancellations, followed by Boston Logan International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, and Philadelphia International Airport.
Anyone hoping to catch a flight in the region on Monday can expect major disruptions, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company. At LaGuardia Airport, for example, 98% of flights scheduled for Monday have been canceled.
Adding to what will likely be a chaotic 48 hours for travelers, the Department of Homeland Security announced Saturday night that it was suspending TSA PreCheck and Global Entry due to the partial government shutdown.
The Transportation Security Administration later said that PreCheck airport lanes are still running, but Global Entry has been suspended.
Rail disruptions, school closures
All rail, bus, and Access Link services will be suspended until conditions improve, NJ Transit said on Monday.
Several school districts across New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts announced that schools will be closed on Monday.
Pennsylvania and Massachusetts have declared states of emergency.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said the declaration “will allow Philadelphia to more effectively fight this large and dangerous storm as it rolls in.”
Her office said the move frees up additional resources to respond to the storm’s impact, with about 1,000 personnel and more than 800 pieces of equipment — including snowplows, salt spreaders, and excavators — set to be deployed across the city.
The governors of New York and Massachusetts have also activated National Guard troops to assist residents and support emergency response efforts as blizzard conditions worsen.
