A major storm hit the east coast of the United States on Monday, bringing record snowfall that led to millions and thousands of flight cancellations.
Parts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts saw nearly 37 inches of snow fall, including more than 19 inches in New York’s Central Park, the National Weather Service said.
Travel conditions are “virtually impossible” in New York, a state agency has warned. More than 600,000 homes and businesses across the East Coast experienced power outages, with New Jersey and Massachusetts hardest hit.
Winter storm warnings stretched from North Carolina to northern Maine, with some warnings in effect farther north in parts of eastern Canada.
Snow is expected to persist through Monday, according to the National Weather Service, and some areas near the northeast coast are expected to receive a total of 1 to 2 feet (61 cm) of snow by Tuesday morning.
Rhode Island, the smallest state in the United States, appears to have received the most snow during the storm. In fact, it was the state’s worst snowstorm ever, according to local media reports.
Providence, the state capital, received 36 inches of snow, breaking the existing record for largest snowstorm, 28.6 inches, set in February 1978.
“It completely destroyed it,” Candice Hrencecin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boston, told the New York Times. “We were as shocked as everyone else.”
A ban on non-essential travel has been implemented in Rhode Island as well as neighboring Connecticut. Later in the day, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey also imposed a travel ban.
“I am issuing a travel ban on all non-essential driving in southeastern Massachusetts and reducing the speed limit on Pike to 40 mph. [25kmh]” she said in an online post, referring to a major highway in the state.
“Whiteout conditions make travel extremely dangerous,” she added. “If you are stuck, help will have difficulty reaching you…I strongly urge everyone to stay off the roads, no matter where you live.”
In Massachusetts, nearly 300,000 people were without power, according to poweroutage.us, including 85% of customers in Barnstable County, which includes all of Cape Cod.
In New York, a travel ban virtually paralyzed the city of more than 8 million before being lifted at noon local time. All roads, highways and bridges were closed.
In Connecticut and New Jersey, there were concerns that falling trees and branches could lead to dangerous road conditions and more power outages.
In Providence, a city spokesperson told the Providence Journal that more than 300 vehicles were towed to park in the path of snow plows.
However, by Monday afternoon, towing operations had stopped and drivers were instead helping people whose vehicles were stuck.
Meanwhile, people wanting to travel to the United States on Monday faced difficulties.
The number of canceled flights within, to or from the United States reached more than 5,706, according to tracking site FlightAware.
The site shows that 98% of flights departing from New York’s LaGuardia Airport have been canceled, and 91% of flights departing from JFK – New York City’s major airports that typically handle more than 335,000 passengers per day.
Both locations had seen about 15 inches of snow.
Boston’s Logan International Airport canceled 92% of outbound flights Monday, while New Jersey’s Newark Liberty Airport canceled 92% and Philadelphia International Airport reduced 80%.
The region will continue to be battered by snow on Tuesday, as more than 2,000 flights to or from the United States are expected to be canceled, with airports in Boston and New York worst affected.
