NEW YORK (Reuters) – Children in parts of the Northeastern United States will stay home on Monday as a powerful winter storm forces schools to close and pushes offices and transportation systems into a state of emergency, with officials in the region warning of heavy snow, strong winds and hazardous travel conditions.
The storm has disrupted East Coast travel from Washington to New England, with airlines canceling thousands of flights and officials urging people to stay off the roads. The U.S. Postal Service says winter weather in the Northeast may also slow down the processing, shipping and delivery of mail and packages.
New York City, the largest school district in the United States, ordered all public schools to close on traditional snow days, with no remote instruction and all extracurricular activities canceled.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared a state of emergency and ordered non-essential vehicles off city roads from Sunday night until noon Monday, saying snowplows and emergency crews would be needed to clear streets as the snowfall intensified. ‌The city is under its first snowstorm warning since 2017.
City offices will be closed to provide in-person services and non-essential city employees may work remotely. “I urge every New Yorker to stay home,” Mamdani said.
regional emergency
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she has mobilized 100 National Guard members to provide assistance to Long Island, New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley, which are expected to bear the brunt of heavy snow and coastal winds. The storm also forced the closure of the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan on Monday.
Parts of the Northeast could see up to two feet of snow, and wind gusts could reach 70 mph, increasing the risk of downed trees and power outages, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Despite continued funding shortfalls, FEMA’s disaster relief efforts continue uninterrupted, including crew travel, emergency operations and critical assistance to people affected by active hazards, while safety of life and property protection remain top priorities, the agency said in an update Sunday.
Last week, Reuters reported that President Donald Trump’s administration had ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to suspend the deployment of hundreds of aid workers to disaster-stricken areas across the country while the Department of Homeland Security was shut down.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey declared a state of emergency and told state workers to stay home. Connecticut banned commercial vehicles from restricted highways Sunday night, exempting only emergency and essential transportation.
New Jersey Governor Mickey Sherrill declared a state of emergency effective at noon Sunday and urged residents to take the storm seriously. “People need to take this very seriously,” she told CNN.
travel disruption
Air travel was one of the earliest casualties. Flight tracking website FlightAware showed more than 5,000 flight cancellations on Monday. Aviation analytics firm Cirium said more than 25,000 flights were expected to depart the United States on Monday, with cancellations also rising on Tuesday, particularly at major Northeastern airports.
The New Jersey Department of Transportation suspended bus, light rail and Access Link service Sunday night and stopped rail service across the state Sunday night, resuming service only when conditions warrant.
In New England, the Rhode Island Transit Authority said it would suspend all service, including the RIde paratransit program, from Sunday night through Monday and announced plans to resume service only when conditions improve.
(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago; Additional reporting by Tatiana Bautzer in New York; Editing by Diane Craft)