New York in state of emergency due to potentially largest snowfall in history

A powerful winter storm hits the northeastern United States on Monday and it could be one of the greatest in history hitting New York.

The state has declared a state of emergency, stopped vaccinations against COVID-19 against the prediction that it could receive about 50 cm of snow.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a storm watch for an area from Virginia to Maine, home to tens of millions of people. In turn, he predicted huge snowfall with winds of up to 80 km per hour in New York City, New Jersey and parts of Philadelphia and Connecticut.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency Sunday night in the city of 8.6 million people, where snow continues to fall steadily in thick flakes and has already blanketed streets and avenues.

The New York government declared schools closed Monday and Tuesday and restricted non-essential travel. This year, however, few are affected as many students are taking online courses and thousands of employees are working from home in the wake of the pandemic.

The mayor also suspended COVID vaccination appointments on Monday and prohibits restaurants from serving customers at tables outside on Monday.

“I asked people not to be on the streets. It’s dangerous. The most important job now is to protect people’s lives by facing the snow first. Tomorrow (Tuesday) we really want to start again. vaccinate “against covid,” he said. de Blasio Monday on MSNBC TV.

“This storm is no joke and the biggest concern now is that the expected snowfall rate this afternoon, 5 cm per hour, is creating a extremely dangerous situation on our roadsNew York Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

Snowfall, which began Sunday evening, reached 13.5 cm in Central Park on Monday morning, and could reach up to 50 cm, according to the weather service.

“If we go past 50cm, it will be one of the 10 biggest snowstorms in New York,” Matthew Wunsch, meteorologist for the city’s NWS, told AFP.

“It will be a decent snowstorm for New York, one of the biggest we have seen in quite some time, at least in a few years,” added Wunsch, who noted that it can snow until Tuesday afternoon.

New York’s three airports and their metropolitan area canceled between 65% and 90% of their flights, according to the Flight Aware website. More than 1,500 flights have been canceled across the country, mainly to Boston, New York, Washington DC and Philadelphia.

A region under the snow

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has also declared a state of emergency, giving authorities the ability to close roads, evacuate homes and obtain necessary public safety equipment.

As well ordered the suspension of public transport across the state through Monday.

“Charge your devices and if you experience power outages report them immediately,” he wrote on Twitter.

The storm, which left snowfall of up to 1.8 meters and heavy rain in mountainous areas of California last week, moved to the midwestern part of the country, particularly affecting Chicago, which recorded about 20 cm of snow.

Heavy snow has fallen since Sunday evening in Washington DC and has delighted the giant pandas at the National Zoo, who were frolicking in the snow. The NWS predicts that snow cover can reach up to 8 inches in the Federal Capital Region and Baltimore, Maryland.

Thousands of students in Washington schools were due to return to school in person on Monday for the first time since March, but their return has been postponed until Tuesday.

Because of the snow US President Joe Biden postponed visit that he had planned for the State Department.

The city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania also declared a state of emergency, closed government buildings and asked residents to remove their cars from certain streets so they can sweep the snow.

The storm is expected to hit Maine on Tuesday, where it can fall between 8 and 13 inches of snow, as well as hail.

Source: AFP