Massive snowstorm slams Northeast, causing power outages and forcing thousands of flight cancellations

A massive winter storm slamming the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic with blizzard conditions on Monday led to power outages and forced thousands of flights to be canceled. 

More than 40 million people were under blizzard warnings along 700 miles of the East Coast from Maryland to Maine, and travel bans were issued across multiple states. The region was grappling with slick roads and whiteout conditions.

Power outages

More than half a million power outages were reported across the East Coast as of midday Monday, according to poweroutage.us. 

Many of them were in Massachusetts, where more than 289,000 outages were reported.

New Jersey was seeing more than 141,000 outages as of midday Monday, while Delaware and Rhode Island were reporting tens of thousands of outages. 

Flight cancellations and delays

Over 10,000 flights have been canceled through Tuesday, according to flight tracking service FlightAware.

Flights were basically suspended from Philadelphia north to Boston. Many of the cancellations were at major hubs in Boston, New York and Philadelphia, although Baltimore and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia were also seeing a significant number of cancellations.

Airlines began canceling flights on Saturday to get ahead of the storm. Cancellations for Monday topped 5,600, while Sunday saw more than 3,400 cancellations.

Over 1,700 U.S. flights have been canceled for Tuesday, which is also when airlines are hoping to resume service in some areas. 

Snowfall totals

Snow accumulation was climbing well into the double digits Monday, with parts of Long Island and New Jersey reporting more than 2 feet, CBS News New York reported.

Babylon, New York, was reporting over 29 inches, while Freehold, New Jersey, was reporting more than 26 inches. 

In New York City, more than 15 inches of snow was recorded in Central Park, according to the National Weather Service. 

This maps shows how much snow has fallen in the region and beyond:

Travel bans

Some were told not to leave home unless absolutely necessary. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a ban on all nonessential travel until noon Monday, leaving its normally busy streets deserted.

Travel restrictions were also issued for multiple counties in New York state, as well as for New Jersey and Rhode Island. 

While some restrictions expired midday Monday, others were extended, including one in Westchester County, New York, where officials said a road ban would last until 6 p.m.

The National Weather Service had said travel conditions were “nearly impossible.”  

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the storm was expected to make history as one of the top 10 worst winter storms in the last 150 years. 

Heavy snow and gusty winds created blizzard conditions between New York City and Boston, causing chaos on Interstate 95. On highways in Connecticut, some drivers resorted to pushing their cars stuck in the snow, while others left to tend to their vehicles caught up in wrecks that caused hours-long traffic delays.

In Boston, the mayor urged people to stay off the roads as parts of New England were expected to get up to two feet of snow. 

“Boston is no stranger to nor’easters, but this is gonna be a big one,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. “And so we need everyone to just be inside, stay warm, stay safe, and let the plows do their work.”