Historic nor’easter paralyses US Northeast with record snowfall

A massive snowstorm pummelled the northeastern United States from Maryland to Maine on Monday, forcing millions of people to stay home amid strong wind and blizzard warnings, transport shutdowns, and school and business closures.

Meteorologists said the storm is the strongest in a decade, dumping more than 2 feet (60 centimetres) of snow in parts of the metropolitan Northeast, shattering accumulation records in places, immobilising transit and even leading the United Nations to postpone a Security Council meeting. Officials declared emergencies, and schools closed, including in New York City, which had its first “old-school” snow day in six years, while people grappled with power failures.

Even as the snow moved northward and tapered off in other areas, the National Weather Service said it is tracking another storm that could bring more snow to the region later this week.

The weather service referred to Monday’s storm as a “classic bomb cyclone/nor’easter off the Northeast coast.” A bomb cyclone happens when a storm’s pressure falls by a certain amount within a 24-hour period, occurring mainly in the autumn and winter when frigid Arctic air can reach the south and clash with warmer temperatures.

While it was paralysing and potentially dangerous for millions along the Eastern Seaboard, meteorologists found themselves rhapsodising over the combination of power and beauty.

The storm hit the “Goldilocks situation” of just the right temperature for wet, heavy snow: any warmer and its precipitation would not have fallen as snow; any colder and there would not have been as much moisture in the air to feed that snowfall, said Owen Shieh, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in Maryland.

In Lower Manhattan, snow shovelers appeared to outnumber commuting office workers, and pedestrians walked freely in streets normally blocked by morning traffic.

“It’s very quiet, except for the howling winds,” said Luis Valez, a concierge at a residential tower just off Wall Street, as he cleared the pavement. “A couple of residents have gone out to get their essentials. Other than that, there’s nothing.”

Matthew Wojtkowiak, 57, an attorney, was also shovelling in his Brooklyn neighbourhood.

“I’m from the Midwest, so this is in the zone,” he said. “Not too bad, not too easy, either.”

Schools were closed, and he said he hoped people would get out and enjoy the snow.

“We have sleds at the ready,” he said.

Karen Smith and Adele Bawden are tourists visiting New York from the United Kingdom.

“We’ve been dancing in Times Square this morning in the middle of the road in rush hour,” Bawden said. “We’ve just been dancing and not believing we could do it.”

Ingrid Devita said she liked to patrol the Lower East Side on skis, checking on people who might need help.

“I find people fall in the snow and they can’t get up,” she said.

Central Park in New York City recorded 19 inches (48 centimetres) of snow. Warwick, Rhode Island, exceeded 3 feet (91 centimetres), topping the nation so far. The highest wind gust of 83 mph (133 kph) was recorded in Nantucket, with hurricane-force gusts seen all over Cape Cod.

In Connecticut, crews at the Mystic Seaport Museum prepared to clear snow from a fleet of historic ships, including the 113-foot-long Charles W. Morgan, a wooden whaling ship from the 19th-century American merchant fleet.

Read moreNew York mayor Mamdani orders citywide travel ban ahead of major snowstorm

Shannon McKenzie, vice president of watercraft operations and preservation, said shipyard staff will clear the snow by hand using rubber or plastic shovels because machinery or metal shovels could damage the boats.

New York, Philadelphia and other cities, as well as several states, declared emergencies.

More than 5,600 flights in and out of the United States were cancelled Monday, and a further 2,000 flights scheduled for Tuesday were grounded, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware. Most of the cancellations involved airports in New York, New Jersey and Boston. Almost 2,500 flights were delayed.

Rhode Island’s T.F. Green International Airport announced Monday that it was temporarily ending all airport operations. The Weather Service reported that the facility got 32.8 inches (83.3 centimetres) of snow, breaking a record set in 1978.

Public transport ground to a halt in some areas, while DoorDash suspended deliveries in New York City overnight into Monday.

Storm-related power outages plunged more than 500,000 customers into darkness along the East Coast early Monday, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide.

Commuters in and around New York felt the strain.

In New York City, several subway lines reported severe delays, while the Long Island Rail Road was fully suspended until further notice. Some Metro-North commuter trains between New York City and its suburbs were delayed by up to an hour. New Jersey Transit suspended bus and rail services “until further notice”.

The weather service said strong wind gusts could cause whiteout conditions and warned of a “potentially historic/destructive storm” southeast of the Boston–Providence corridor.

“Winds like that, combined with heavy, wet snow, are a recipe for damaged trees and prolonged power outages,” said Bryce Williams, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Boston office. “That’s what we’re most concerned with, is the combination of those extreme snow amounts with that wind.”

Outreach workers, meanwhile, tried to coax homeless New Yorkers into shelters and warming centres.

Various landmarks and cultural institutions were closed Monday, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art and Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Broadway shows were cancelled Sunday evening.

New York City and Boston cancelled public school classes for Monday, while Philadelphia switched to online learning. Districts on Long Island and elsewhere in the New York suburbs said they would cancel school for a second day on Tuesday.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat, said class would be back in person on Tuesday.

Officials in one of the city’s Republican strongholds criticised the move. Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said school should remain closed, saying roads are impassable and pavements are blocked. The teachers’ union, the United Federation of Teachers, advised its members to be cautious and put their safety first when deciding whether to report to work.

Spokespersons for Mamdani did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Earlier Monday, when he announced classes would be back in session, he quipped: “You can still pelt me with snowballs when you see me.”

For Monday, though, he had another mission for students: “Stay cosy.”

(FRANCE 24 with AP)