NEW YORK (AP) — A massive snow storm pummeled the northeast United States on Monday, trapping millions of people in their homes amid strong wind and blizzard warnings, transportation shutdowns, and school and business closures.
The storm hit the metropolitan northeast as accumulations from an earlier snowfall had just melted away — except for gray mountainous piles in parking lots and along the side of roads. Officials declared emergencies from Delaware to Massachusetts, and hundreds of thousands of people grappled with power failure from downed electrical lines.
Even as digging out began, the National Weather Service warned Monday that perilous conditions could persist.
“The combination of heavy snowfall and strong winds will continue to produce blizzard conditions along the Northeastern Seaboard,” the weather service said Monday. “Sharply reduced visibility will make travel extremely treacherous across these areas.”
The weather service referred to the storm as a “classic bomb cyclone/nor’easter off the Northeast coast.” A bomb cyclone is when a storm drops at least 24 millibars in pressure in 24 hours.
New York City and Boston canceled public school classes for Monday, while Philadelphia switched to online learning. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani called it the “first old-school snow day since 2019.”
“And to kids across New York City, you have a very serious mission if you choose to accept it: Stay cozy,” he said.
People begin digging out even as snowfall continues
Trae Story, 31, was doing some shoveling for a neighbor in Brooklyn.
“I’m from Minnesota, so this is like, normal,” he said, adding, “I might’ve broken a sweat. It’s like my warm-up for the day.”
Source: WPLG
