A powerful winter storm has struck the north-east United States, placing nearly 60 million people under weather warnings. States of emergency have been declared across multiple states and forcing a travel ban in New York City as heavy snow, fierce winds and coastal flooding batter the region.
The storm began lashing the region on Sunday (22 February) evening and is forecast to continue into Monday, with the heaviest impact expected across New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Forecasters say it could be the most powerful winter storm to hit much of the north-east in nearly a decade.
Around 40 million people are under blizzard warnings and another 19 million under winter storm warnings stretching from the central Appalachians to coastal Maine.
Snowfall rates of 5–8cm per hour (2–3 inches) are forecast, with total accumulations of 30-60cm (1-2 feet) widely expected and up to 71cm (28 inches) in some areas. Winds along the coast could gust between 65 and 70 mph, raising the risk of downed trees, power cuts and coastal flooding.
New York City, under its first blizzard warning in nine years, is forecast to receive 46-61cm of snow (18-24 inches), with temperatures falling to about -6C (20F).
Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared a state of emergency and imposed a full travel ban across the five boroughs from 2100 local time on Sunday until midday Monday, closing streets, highways and bridges except for emergency vehicles. Schools were cancelled and Broadway performances suspended.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a statewide emergency and activated around 100 National Guard members, warning that Long Island, New York City and the lower Hudson Valley were in the direct path of the storm.
In New Jersey, Governor Mikie Sherrill declared a state of emergency, halted public transport services and introduced a mandatory overnight travel ban.
Thousands of residents were already without electricity. States of emergency were also declared in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island, where officials urged residents to stay at home and closed government offices.
More than 20,000 customers in New Jersey were without power, with further outages reported in Virginia, Delaware and Maryland. Nearly 3,900 flights were cancelled nationwide on Sunday, including more than 1,700 in the New York metropolitan area, and hundreds more were delayed.
New York’s subway system operated on a modified service, while the Long Island Rail Road and parts of New Jersey Transit suspended operations.
In Connecticut, commercial vehicles were barred from highways until further notice. Schools in Boston and districts near Washington, DC, also closed or delayed opening.
The storm is also affecting eastern Canada, with parts of Nova Scotia under an orange weather warning through early Tuesday.
Officials across the north-east warned residents to avoid unnecessary travel, remain indoors and prepare for prolonged power outages as the blizzard intensifies overnight.
Saudi civil defence sent an all-clear on Saturday after issuing alerts for a second time for potential danger in R...
The U.S. State Department approved a potential $2.7 billion military sale to Ukraine for air-defence develo...
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that additional news organisations could be barred from the White House, hours after announcing bans on ...
Russian air strikes injured 13 and damaged buildings in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and in the Black Sea port city of Odesa in the early hours of Thursday, officials said on the Telegram messaging app.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said a Togo-flagged oil tanker was struck while attempting to make an “illegal passage” through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media said early on Friday.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he hoped the war against Iran was nearing its end and that Tehran wanted to reach a deal, but Iran dismissed his comments as “mixed signals” as the conflict approaches its seventh month.
The European Union will disburse €3.3 billion ($3.8 billion) to Ukraine for missiles and drones, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 18 September 2026. These are the top five stories making headlines in the field of science.
Saudi Arabia is opening up to more international travellers as tourism expands beyond religious travel. In Riyadh, historic landmarks stand alongside new developments and a rapidly changing skyline, while AlUla and Diriyah offer a glimpse into the kingdom’s heritage.
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are considering restoring passenger ferry services across the Caspian Sea, six years after the route was suspended.
Flights across some of Britain's busiest airports were thrown into chaos on Tuesday after a technical failure at air traffic control provider NATS disrupted the system used to process flight data.
Investigators said they have recovered the flight data and cockpit voice recorders from an Amazon Prime Air cargo plane that overran the runway and crashed while landing at Miami International Airport on Sunday (6 September), killing five people on the ground.
An eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Anak Krakatau has disrupted air travel, school activities and fishing operations, with hundreds of passengers stranded at Jakarta’s main airport on Sunday.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment