New York’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has ordered a citywide ban on all non-essential travel as a powerful winter storm threatens to bring blizzard conditions across the north-eastern United States.
The late-season storm is forecast to cause severe disruption along the east coast, with warnings stretching from Maryland to Massachusetts and affecting more than 35 million people. Forecasters expect more than a foot of snow in many areas, wind gusts of up to 70mph and the risk of coastal flooding from Cape Cod to Delaware.
Mamdani declared a state of emergency on Sunday, unlocking additional funding to respond to the storm. He also imposed an unusual ban on non-essential travel across streets, highways and bridges from 9pm on Sunday until noon on Monday. The restriction does not apply to emergency services, essential workers or residents travelling for urgent reasons.
Public schools in New York City will be closed on Monday. “No online school, no remote learning, full classic snow day,” the mayor said in a post on X.
New Yorkers were urged to remain indoors as the city came under its first blizzard warning in nearly a decade. “Staying home means you are staying safe,” Mamdani told Fox News.
The National Weather Service warned that the storm could intensify rapidly, becoming more severe than earlier forecasts suggested. It said 1 to 2ft of snow was possible across large parts of the region.
Blizzard warnings were issued for New York City, Long Island, coastal New Jersey and parts of Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and Rhode Island, extending north to Boston and other areas of Massachusetts.
Forecasters also warned that a storm surge of 2 to 4ft could lead to moderate coastal flooding and beach erosion during high tide cycles along a 400-mile stretch of coastline.
The weather service cautioned that whiteout conditions could make travel “treacherous and potentially life-threatening”, with strong winds and heavy snow likely to bring down trees and power lines, causing sporadic power outages.
Air travel has been heavily disrupted, with more than 6,000 flights cancelled through Monday, according to FlightAware. Major airports including JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, Philadelphia and Boston Logan have been most affected.
City officials said New York would expand measures used during a recent snowstorm, including bringing in additional snow-clearing equipment and using geocoding to track bus stops, crosswalks and pedestrian ramps that need clearing. Extra workers have also been recruited to shovel snow by hand.
Outreach teams have been assisting unhoused residents into shelters and warming centres across the city.
Some residents expressed frustration that workplaces remained open despite the travel restrictions. Brooklyn resident Brandon Smith said commuting would be difficult for many. “It’s unfortunate roads are suspended as jobs are not going to stop calling us in,” he said.
In neighbouring New Jersey, governor Mikie Sherrill declared a statewide emergency from noon on Sunday. All 21 counties were placed under a blizzard warning simultaneously for the first time in 30 years.
Churches cancelled services and officials in Atlantic City urged residents and visitors to stay off the streets, particularly in flood-prone areas. “If you are out now, it’s time to get home,” Sherrill said on social media.
In Boston, mayor Michelle Wu declared a snow emergency from 2pm on Sunday. Public schools and city offices will be closed on Monday.
“This is shaping up to be a storm of historic proportions,” Wu said at a press conference.
