A massive snowstorm pummeled the northeast United States from Maryland to Maine on Monday, forcing millions of people to stay home amid strong wind and blizzard warnings, transportation shutdowns, and school and business closures. New York City remains under a state of emergency, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said during an afternoon news briefing.
Snow fell at a rate of 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.6 centimeters) an hour early Monday from New York through Massachusetts. Some areas have gotten well over a foot (30 centimeters) of snow since Sunday, along with wind gusts of over 30 mph (48 kph) and low visibility.
More than 5,000 flights in and out of the U.S. were canceled for Monday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Most were canceled in New York, New Jersey and Boston.
‘The lights were all flickering and going on and off’
Carbon monoxide from an underground electrical fire caused by seeping road salt forced residents of a Brooklyn apartment building to evacuate during the snowstorm Monday.
A woman hoisted a child wrapped in a blanket into her arms as she stepped into the blowing snow, accompanied by a man with a meowing cat inside a pet carrier. White smoke billowed nearby from a maintenance hole.
Another resident, Eric Moultrie, said the fire has been smoldering since before the snowstorm and eventually caused a power outage Monday morning.
“I heard some like, loud buzzing and banging and the lights were all flickering and going on and off,” he said. He said the building in the Flatbush neighborhood has around 70 apartments.
Firefighters at the scene said it’s common for road salt to get into underground utility equipment, triggering sparks that burn cable insulation and can release carbon monoxide.
Closures extend to the UN General Assembly
Source: WPLG
