A winter storm sweeping across the United States Northeast disrupted post-holiday travel over the weekend, leading to thousands of flight delays and cancellations and prompting emergency declarations in several states.
A mix of snow and ice bore down on the region early on Saturday, affecting airline operations and road travel before easing by mid-morning.
Officials in New York and New Jersey declared states of emergency, urging residents to stay off the roads amid hazardous conditions.
“The safety of New Yorkers is my top priority, and I continue to urge extreme caution throughout the duration of this storm,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement.
By early Saturday, between six and 10 inches of snow had fallen across a wide area stretching from Syracuse in central New York to Long Island, as well as parts of Connecticut, Bob Oravec, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center near Washington, told Reuters.
New York City recorded between two and four inches of snow overnight, with 4.3 inches measured in Central Park, the heaviest snowfall there since 2022.
Despite the storm easing, the impact on travel was significant. More than 9,000 domestic U.S. flights were cancelled or delayed by early Saturday evening, with major disruptions reported at New York-area airports including John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
Major airlines moved to assist affected passengers. American Airlines, United Airlines and JetBlue Airways said they had waived change fees for travellers needing to rebook due to weather-related disruptions.
Beyond New York and New Jersey, ice storm warnings and winter weather advisories were issued for much of Pennsylvania and large parts of Massachusetts.
New Jersey and Pennsylvania also imposed restrictions on commercial vehicles on some roads, including several interstate highways.
“This storm will cause dangerous road conditions and impact holiday travel,” New Jersey acting Governor Tahesha Way said in a statement. “We are urging travellers to avoid travel during the storm and allow crews to tend to roads.”
