Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, Feb 23: A powerful winter storm swept across the US Northeast, prompting travel bans, school closures, and widespread flight cancellations as heavy snowfall and fierce winds battered cities from Washington, D.C. to Boston.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a warning for a “Major Winter Storm for the Northeast,” forecasting intense snowfall across the northern Mid-Atlantic and New England through Monday. Snowfall rates were projected at two to three inches per hour in some areas, with accumulations reaching up to two feet, creating what officials described as “nearly impossible travel conditions.”

Blizzard warnings covered large swathes of the region. According to The Weather Channel, the NWS office in New York City characterised the system as “a potentially historic blizzard.”

City authorities in New York imposed a travel ban from 9 p.m. Sunday through noon Monday. Mayor Zoharan Mamdani urged residents to avoid nonessential travel, noting that the city had not experienced a storm of this magnitude in the past decade. Public schools were closed Monday, marking the city’s first traditional snow day since 2019.

Neighbouring New Jersey also enacted a travel ban beginning Sunday night, while officials in Rhode Island advised residents to stay off roads. Several states across the region declared states of emergency as conditions worsened.

Air travel faced severe disruption. The Wall Street Journal reported that nearly 8,000 flights were cancelled over Sunday and Monday, primarily affecting Boston and New York. At LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport, close to half of scheduled Sunday flights were grounded. The New York Times said more than 3,500 flights had already been cancelled by Sunday afternoon.

In Boston and across eastern Massachusetts, forecasters predicted snowfall totals of up to two feet, accompanied by wind gusts reaching 75 miles per hour. The local NWS office warned of a “potentially historic and destructive storm.”

Further south in Washington, D.C., several inches of heavy, wet snow were forecast. Federal agencies announced a two-hour delay in operations, while many schools either closed or opted for delayed openings.

Meteorologists cautioned that strong onshore winds could trigger coastal flooding from Delaware to Cape Cod, with the potential for structural damage and widespread roadway inundation.

Overall, nearly 54 million people lay in the storm’s projected path, stretching from the central Appalachians to coastal Maine. The system is expected to move out of northern New England by Tuesday morning, bringing gradual improvement in conditions.