An extreme cold air mass, mixed with snow and ice, struck the northeastern United States in the early morning of December 27 (local time), disrupting air traffic during the holidays and forcing the New York and New Jersey state governments to declare a state of emergency on the weather, although the storm weakened in the middle of the morning.
People in many northeastern areas are advised to limit going out due to dangerous travel conditions. A state of emergency has been declared in New York and New Jersey.
The safety of New Yorkers is my top priority, and I continue to call for extreme caution during the storm," New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement.
According to Mr. Bob Oravec, a meteorologist at the US National Weather Service's Weather Forecast Center near Washington D.C., by early morning on December 27, snowfall reached about 15-25cm in the area stretching from Syracuse in central New York to Long Island in southeastern New York, as well as in Connecticut.
New York City recorded snowfall of 5-10cm at night, of which Central Park measured 10.9cm - the highest level since 2022, Mr. Oravec said.
The good news is that the heaviest snowfall has passed," he said. "There are only a few light snowfalls in the morning and will gradually end in the afternoon.
However, the impact of bad weather is still spreading to the aviation sector. As of the evening of December 27, more than 9,000 domestic flights in the US have been canceled or delayed, including many flights in the New York area, including John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty international airports, according to FlightAware.
Representatives of American Airlines, United Airlines and JetBlue Airways said that airlines have exempted fare changes - a fee usually applied when passengers rebook tickets - for routes affected by the weather.
Ice storm warnings and winter weather warnings were also issued in most of Pennsylvania and most of Massachusetts.
New Jersey and Pennsylvania apply restrictions on commercial vehicles on some routes, including many federal highways.
This storm will cause dangerous traffic conditions and affect travel during the holidays" - New Jersey Acting Governor Tahesha Way said, while calling on "people to limit travel during the storm and create conditions for functional forces to handle roads".
