`Historic` Winter Storm Strikes US Northeast Monday Jan 26,2015

 

A massive, wind-whipped blizzard slammed into the US Northeast on Monday Jan 26,2015, creating havoc for more than 60 million people and forcing New York City to shut down on a scale not seen since Superstorm Sandy devastated the region in 2012.

The potentially historic storm which could affect 20 percent of the US population, caused at least six states up and down the East Coast to declare emergencies, forced the cancellation of thousands of flights, closed major mass transit hubs and schools.

Vacationers and business travellers faced headaches as airlines cancelled around 3,000 US flights, with Boston and New York airports most heavily affected

The United Nations headquarters gave itself a day off on Tuesday. East Coast schools, including New York City with the nation`s largest public school system serving 1 million students, and universities, including Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, cancelled classes for Tuesday Jan 27,2015

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that the "life-threatening blizzard" could dump a "crippling snowfall" of as much as 3 feet (90 cm) on the region.

Coastal flood warnings were issued, with tides in the New York metro area expected to be as much 3 feet higher than normal early Tuesday morning.

States of emergency were declared in

• New York
• New Jersey
• Connecticut
• Rhode Island
• Massachusetts and 
• New Hampshire 

as people were urged to stay home with transit systems, including the New York City subway, suspending services and roadways closed amid white-out conditions.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a travel ban for all but emergency vehicles on every road in 13 counties in southern New York state, including New York City, suburban Westchester and Long Island, with the threat of a $300 fine for violators.

His peers in Connecticut and Massachusetts imposed similar bans on driving.

 Note
The biggest snowfall on record in New York City came during the storm of Feb 11-12, 2006, dropping 26.9 inches (68 cm), according to the city`s Office of Emergency Management.