New York orders citywide travel ban as major storm hits US

NEW YORK: New York ordered drivers off the roads and closed schools Monday as residents across the US Northeast braced for a massive snowstorm.

Tens of millions of Americans - from Washington, DC, to the northern state of Maine - prepared for as much as two feet (60 centimetres) of snow forecast in some areas. Light snowfall and "freezing fog," with temperatures dipping to 30°F (-1°C), were recorded in New York early Monday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

The NWS warned that blizzard conditions would "quickly materialize" from Maryland to southeastern New England, making travel "extremely treacherous."


Snow was expected to fall at rates of two to three inches per hour at the peak of the storm, affecting nearly 54 million people. By early Monday, the storm had already reduced visibility in New York, with skyscrapers in Wall Street barely visible from Brooklyn.

Forecasters warned heavy snow and strong wind gusts could trigger power outages. Shortly after 1:39 am local time (0639 GMT), nearly 80,000 customers in New Jersey were without electricity, according to tracking website poweroutage.us.

More than 5,000 flights had also been cancelled early Monday, according to flight tracker FlightAware.