Blizzard Disrupts Travel Plans at NYC and Boston Airports

The East Coast finds itself engulfed in travel turmoil as an enormous blizzard unleashed over 20 inches of snow overnight on Sunday, creating a wintry havoc.

Monday morning saw nearly all flights to and from New York City, Philadelphia, and Boston grounded, as the severe weather conditions led multiple states to declare states of emergency. This monumental storm has resulted in the cancellation of nearly 9,000 flights across the nation since Sunday, with officials cautioning that the storm’s impact on travel may linger for several days.

Particularly hard-hit airports include New York’s JFK and LaGuardia, Newark in New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Washington DC’s Reagan. The ripple effect of this “weather bomb” is expected to disrupt travel far beyond the Northeast, as the immobile aircraft there have left many connecting flights across the United States in limbo.

Airports seeing the most disruptions include JFK and LaGuardia in New York, Newark in New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Reagan in Washington DC. 

The weather bomb is likely to leave travel disrupted across the United States, as planes are stranded in the Northeast, cutting off connecting flights. 

Officials urged all travelers to check the status of their flights, with most airlines offering waivers to rebook without penalty due to the inclement weather. 

On Monday morning, New York City airports had the highest number of cancellations, with around 99 percent axed, according to FlightAware, and forecasters warned the storm is expected to bring even more snowfall throughout Monday. 

Travel chaos has swept the East Coast as a huge blizzard brought over 20 inches of snow overnight on Sunday. At LaGuardia in New York, some 99 percent of all flights were canceled

The heavy snow has impacted millions across the East Coast, with travel restrictions in place from Boston (pictured) down to Washington DC 

A New York City Department of Sanitation garbage truck in Brooklyn on Monday

Snow totals in New York reached over 20 inches in Long Island, with Central Park recording 15 inches and Newark, New Jersey, recording 18 inches as of 9.30am ET Monday. 

With snowfall rates forecast from two to three inches per hour, the snow could reach historic levels, with the previous record in Central Park standing at 27.5 inches set on Jan. 22-24 in 2016.

Other historic snow totals in the city included 26.9 inches in 2006, 26.4 in 1947 and 21 in 1888.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani placed a travel ban on all residents in New York City, which shut down all travel on New York City’s roads and bridges from 9pm Sunday until at least 12pm Monday, mandated a snow day for all city schools, and placed the city under its first blizzard warning in over a decade. 

Subway lines are running but with severe delays. 

Mamdani shared a clip to his social media following announcing the news, saying: ‘No online school, no remote learning, full classic snow day.’ 

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill also implemented a travel ban across the state, in effect until noon Monday.

‘Due to the ongoing hazardous storm conditions, we are extending the mandatory travel restriction until 12pm today,’ she wrote on X.

‘Please stay inside and stay safe. Give road crews the space they need to do their jobs.’

Airports seeing the most disruptions include JFK and LaGuardia in New York, Newark in New Jersey, Philadelphia international and Reagan international, in Washington, DC

Forecasters said upwards of 20 inches of snow will fall in some areas, with wind gusts reaching over 50mph 

The severe weather led governors in multiple states to place millions under state of emergency warnings and travel bans

Snowfall spread across New York at two to three inches per hour overnight

Mayor Zohran Mamdani placed a travel ban on all residents in New York City, which shut down all travel on roads and bridges until at least 12pm Monday

The powerful blizzard saw snowfall rates rapidly rise in the tri-state area to over an inch per hour on Monday morning, with all residents urged to stay inside as icy wind gusts reached 50mph. 

National Guard troops have also been deployed in several states, including New York and Massachusetts, as upwards of 500,000 people have been left without power across the East Coast. 

Because temperatures remain around freezing, conditions allowed snowflakes to partially melt and pack together, creating a dense form of snow known as ‘heart attack’ snow. This could be twice as heavy and more difficult to shovel.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey urged residents to stay off the streets, saying: ‘Every car that gets stranded, runs down, slips, crashes – you are creating a burden for our first responders who may need to be deployed elsewhere.’ 

The National Weather Service warned that travel will be ‘extremely treacherous to nearly impossible’ on Monday, and forecast snowfall rates of two to three inches per hour are expected over the northern Mid-Atlantic and eastern New England. 

Heavy snowfall and strong winds leading to blizzard conditions will sharply reduce visibility and make travel ‘extremely treacherous’ along the Northeastern Seaboard, the forecaster said.