Historic Snowstorm Hits the Northeastern United States
More than 40 million people from Maryland to Maine faced a rare‑magnitude snowstorm on Monday that paralyzed the New York megacity.
- Freehold, New Jersey – located about 50 km southwest of Manhattan – was among the hardest‑hit areas, with 60 cm (≈ 2 ft) of snow accumulated since Sunday night.
- Central Park recorded roughly 40 cm (≈ 1.3 ft) of powder, the deepest snowfall since 2021. The storm was expected to keep intensifying into early afternoon.
State of Emergency Declared
Governors of seven states—Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island—issued emergency declarations and banned non‑essential vehicle traffic starting Sunday afternoon.
- Schools, municipal services, and many businesses remained closed on Monday in New York and Boston.
- The United Nations headquarters in Manhattan stayed shut.
Aviation Disruptions
- By 11 a.m. EDT (16 h GMT), more than 5,800 flights had been canceled, according to FlightAware.
- The most affected airports were New York (JFK, LGA, EWR), Boston (BOS), and Philadelphia (PHL).
- Approximately 4,000 flights were already canceled on Sunday, with another 1,600+ cancellations slated for Tuesday.
Public‑Transit and Power Outages
- Portions of public transportation, including rail services, were suspended—particularly in New Jersey.
- Nearly 660,000 households lost electricity (PowerOutage.us), with ≈ 265,000 outages in Massachusetts and ≈ 130,000 in New Jersey.
Official Statements
“New York City has not experienced a storm of this magnitude in the past decade,” warned Mayor Zohran Mamdani at a Sunday press conference.
Authorities reiterated that all non‑essential vehicles were prohibited from traveling on roads, highways, and bridges until noon (17 h GMT).
The National Weather Service also warned of flooding risks in parts of New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts.
Boston’s Outlook
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu described the event as a “historic‑scale storm,” forecasting up to 60 cm (≈ 2 ft) of snow for the city.
Keywords: Northeastern US snowstorm, New York snow paralysis, Freehold New Jersey snowfall, Central Park record snow, state of emergency, flight cancellations, power outages, historic storm Boston
