Northeast States Under Emergency as Snow Falls Amid Blizzard Warning

New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts governors issued state of emergency orders and a halt to non-essential travel as a major storm was expected to bring up to 24 inches of snow and strong winds to the region.

Around 15,247 flights were delayed by early afternoon on Sunday, and 3,509 were canceled. The largest number of cancellations were at JFK, La Guardia and Newark airports.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani ordered the closure of city streets to non-essential vehicular traffic, including bicycles and scooters, from 9 p.m. Sunday to 12 p.m. Monday and closure of all school buildings.

Similar restrictions were adopted by Connecticut, as Governor Ned Lamont banned commercial vehicles on highways in the state from 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has declared a state of emergency and activated up to 200 National Guard members to help. The state also restricted non-essential travel from Sunday evening.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul activated 100 National Guard members to deploy in Long Island, New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley.

(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer, editing by Michelle Nichols and Chizu Nomiyama)