NEW YORK, Dec 27 (Reuters) – A winter storm made up of a frigid mix of snow and ice slammed into the northeastern United States early on Saturday, disrupting air traffic after the holiday weekend and prompting authorities in New York and New Jersey to issue weather emergency declarations.
The National WeatherService issued ice storm and winter storm warnings across New York and Connecticut, predicting some of the heaviest snowfall – up to a foot in localized areas – for Long Island and the Hudson Valley.
New York City could see its highest accumulations since 2022, with peak snowfall rates of 2 inches or more per hour, according to an emergency declaration Friday from Gov. Kathy Hochul, warning of hazardous road conditions.
In many areas, snow was forecast to be mixed or icy with sleet and freezing rain.
“The safety of New Yorkers is my top priority, and I continue to urge extreme caution throughout the duration of this storm,” Hochul said in a statement, urging residents to “avoid unnecessary travel.”
Ice storm warnings and winter weather advisories were also issued for most of Pennsylvania, much of Massachusetts and most of New Jersey, where a state of emergency was also declared. High winds were forecast as part of the storm.
Snow began falling in Western New York and the New York area Friday evening and is expected to intensify Saturday.
More than 1,600 commercial flights in and out of the United States were canceled Friday, and more than 7,800 were delayed as weather conditions began to deteriorate, according to flight tracking service FlightAware.
The three main airports serving the New York area – John F. Kennedy, Newark Liberty International and LaGuardia Airport – accounted for the bulk of Friday’s flight cancellations. All three have issued alerts on social media platform X to warn travelers of potential disruptions.
Another 650 flights scheduled to take off or land in the United States on Saturday were canceled, FlightAware reported.
Representatives for American Airlines, United Airlines and JetBlue Airways told Reuters those carriers had waived change fees, normally charged for rebooking, for passengers whose travel plans could be affected by weather-related disruptions.
New Jersey and Pennsylvania have imposed restrictions on commercial vehicles on certain roads, including many interstate highways.
“This storm will cause hazardous road conditions and impact vacations and travel,” New Jersey Acting Governor Tahesha Way said in a statement. “We urge travelers to avoid traveling during the storm and to “allow crews to man the roads.”
(Reporting by Maria Tsvetkova in New York; writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Washington, editing by Shri Navaratnam)
