New York, Feb 23, (dpa/GNA) – A severe winter storm with heavy snow and strong winds, has paralysed much of the north-east of the United States over the past 24 hours.
Nearly 400,000 customers were affected by power failures, according to the Poweroutage tracking website.
More than 40 million people received blizzard warnings, which apply during severe snowstorms with wind speeds of more than 55 kilometres per hour, and severely limited visibility.
More than 30 centimetres of snow fell in the states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Connecticut.
Strong winds and heavy, wet snow knocked down trees, damaged power lines and caused local flooding on the Massachusetts coast.
In New York, the authorities imposed a driving ban, and temporarily closed roads, motorways and bridges, except for essential traffic such as emergency services.
More than 38 centimetres of snow fell in the city’s Central Park by morning â the most in a single storm in more than five years, according to the broadcaster CNN.
Authorities imposed a driving ban and temporarily closed roads, motorways and bridges, except for essential traffic.
The city’s streets, which are usually extremely busy on a Monday morning, remained largely quiet. Only a few vehicles were on the road. Snowploughs battled against the masses of snow, with a few people trudging between them.
Most shops stayed shut while schools, municipal libraries and other public institutions remained closed by order of Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Theatre performances on New York’s Broadway had been cancelled on Sunday evening.
Mamdani appealed to people not to leave their homes and flats. For those in need, there were reception centres in all boroughs where citizens could seek refuge and warm up.
In the neighbouring state of New Jersey, a traffic ban is also in place for non-exempt vehicles on all roads and motorways until the end of the day.
The combination of violent gusts of wind and large amounts of snow makes driving “incredibly dangerous,” said Governor Mikie Sherrill.
Air traffic was also affected. According to data from the Flightaware website, thousands of connections to and from the US and within the country were cancelled.
At major hubs such as New York’s John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports, as well as in Boston, around 90% of arrivals and departures were cancelled. Almost 4,000 flights were cancelled on Sunday.
The current storm is part of a series of extreme winter weather conditions in the United States.
At the end of January and beginning of February, severe snowstorms and unusually low temperatures had already affected large parts of the country. Numerous people lost their lives.
GNA