Winter storm: Which states have declared a state of emergency?
Historic snowfall, blizzards and power outages have begun to hit the Northeast as six states activate emergency measures.
Winter storm in New York
More than 40 million Americans are under alert for the winter storm. Heavy snow and blizzards hit the northwestern part of the country Monday, while cities such as Philadelphia, New York and Boston are expecting record snowfall accumulations.
At least six states have declared a state of emergency in recent hours:
- Connecticut: "I have signed an emergency order prohibiting all commercial vehicles from traveling on all limited access highways statewide in Connecticut," Governor Ned Lamont tweeted. "This order takes effect at 5PM today and will remain in effect until further notice."
- Massachusetts: "The storm poses an imminent threat to public safety with potential flooding, downed trees, power outages, storm surges, blizzard conditions along the coast, and property damage," read the state emergency declaration. The measure went into effect Sunday.
- New Jersey: State Police imposed a travel ban until at least noon Monday. Governor Mikie Sherrill described in her emergency declaration, "blizzard conditions with wind gusts up to 55 miles per hour, and heavy and widespread snow accumulations exceeding 12 inches, with locally higher amounts as high as 18 to 24 inches possible."
- New York: Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for about 20 counties and deployed the National Guard. "Please continue to limit any non-essential travel and abide by local travel restrictions so our plow drivers can do their jobs," Hochul tweeted in the final hours and recommended visiting http://511ny.org for more information.
- Rhode Island: "We’re asking Rhode Islanders to take this storm seriously and stay home," Gov. Dan McKee asked as he signed the state of emergency on Sunday. "This is an all-hands-on-deck response. Our state agencies have the resources and manpower they need to respond and keep Rhode Islanders safe."
- Delaware: "I want to express my sincere gratitude to the frontline workers who worked through the night to keep Delawareans safe," stated Governor Matt Meyer on Monday, after issuing an emergency declaration on Sunday. "Delaware is stronger because of you."
Flight cancellations, power outages and heating centers
The storm has caused flight cancellations and power outages for thousands of homes and businesses in the region since early morning.
The National Weather Service warned of the storm and its effects will continue through much of Monday.
As of 11:00 a.m. EST, more than 5,800 flights to or from the United States have been canceled and hundreds more delayed, according to tracking website FlightAware.
New York's three major airports, as well as Boston's Logan Airport, recorded the most cancellations. Locations in at least four states - Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island - saw up to 60 centimeters of snow Monday morning.
More than 600,000 consumers were without power Monday morning, the bulk of them due to the winter storm. The hardest-hit state was Massachusetts, followed by New Jersey and Delaware, according to data from the specialist site PowerOutage.us:
- Massachusetts: 289,723 customers without power
- New Jersey: 141,848
- Delaware: 67,630
- Rhode Island: 40,695
- California: 25,488
- New York: 16,463
- Maryland: 15,104
- Pennsylvania: 14,861
"New York City has not faced a storm of this scale in the last decade," New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Sunday, according to AFP. Mamdani also declared a state of emergency.
In Central Park, in the heart of this city of more than eight million people, 38 centimeters of snow accumulated, the most accumulated by a single storm in more than five years.
Michelle Wu, mayor of Boston in the state of Massachusetts, ordered the closure of public schools and municipal buildings on Monday.
"We ask everyone to plan ahead, stay safe and warm, and stay off the roads," Wu said.
Major cities such as New York, Philadelphia and Boston announced dedicated warming centers for people caught out in the cold.
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