New York and Boston Hit by Second Day of Snowstorm... New York City Imposes Travel Ban

School Closures and Travel Ban in New York City
More Than 5,500 Flights Canceled
Weather Service Urges People to "Refrain from Traveling"

Heavy snowfall hit Wall Street in New York on the 23rd (local time).

A powerful winter snowstorm hit the northeastern United States on the 23rd (local time), effectively shutting down operations at major city airports in and around New York and Boston, while New York City imposed a travel ban on non-essential vehicles.

According to the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS), since the afternoon of the 22nd a strong snowstorm accompanied by high winds and heavy snowfall has been battering coastal cities in the U.S. Northeast. The storm, bringing winds of 20 to 30 meters per second, is expected to affect major northeastern cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston, as well as the states of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island through the afternoon of the 23rd.

Blizzard warnings have been in effect in these areas from the morning of the 22nd through the afternoon of the 23rd. The population within the warning area is about 40 million. The National Weather Service defines a blizzard situation as conditions in which gusts of at least 56 km (35 miles) per hour persist for three hours or more and visibility is reduced to less than about 400 meters (0.25 miles).

Issuing the blizzard warning, the National Weather Service said, "Heavy snowfall accompanied by strong winds is expected, which will cause whiteout conditions with sharply reduced visibility and make travel extremely dangerous," urging people to refrain from traveling unless it is an emergency.

By that morning, about 30 cm of snow had accumulated in parts of New York and New Jersey, and some coastal areas of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island were forecast to receive a total snowfall of more than 60 cm. According to the National Weather Service, in some northern parts of Bergen County, New Jersey, where many Korean Americans live, snowfall had reached about 40 cm as of 2 to 3 a.m. on the 23rd.

New York City was also forecast to receive more than 45 cm of snow by that day. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that this is the first time in nine years, since March 2017, that a blizzard warning has been issued for New York City. Boston likewise received its first blizzard warning in four years, since 2022.

According to the flight-tracking website FlightAware, as of 11 a.m. Eastern Time that day, airlines had canceled more than 5,500 domestic and international flights scheduled to operate that day. The number of delayed flights reached about 13,000.

Including those from the previous day when the snowstorm began, the total number of canceled flights over the two days was more than 9,500, and the number of delayed flights was more than 37,000. At major airports in and around New York City and Boston, most flights were canceled, effectively bringing operations to a halt.

Local governments within the storm’s impact area declared states of emergency in preparation for the snowstorm and ordered a one-day temporary closure of schools on the 23rd. New York City imposed a travel ban on non-essential vehicles from 9 p.m. on the 22nd until noon on the 23rd, exempting only vehicles providing essential services.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a briefing the previous day, "New York City has not experienced a winter storm of this scale in the past decade," and New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who declared a state of emergency two days earlier, warned, "This storm could reach historic proportions."