Winter storm bears down on U.S. Northeast, disrupting airline journey

NEW YORK, Dec 27 (Reuters) – A winter storm packing a frosty mixture of snow and ice bore down on the U.S. Northeast early on Saturday, disrupting post-holiday weekend airline site visitors and prompting officers in New York and New Jersey to subject climate emergency declarations.

The National Weather Service posted ice storm and winter storm warnings all through New York state and Connecticut, forecasting a number of the heaviest snowfall totals – as much as a foot in localized areas – for Long Island and the Hudson Valley.

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New York City might see its highest accumulations since 2022, with peak snowfall charges of two or extra inches per hour, in accordance with an emergency declaration on Friday from Governor Kathy Hochul, warning of treacherous highway circumstances.

In many areas snow was forecast to be blended or glazed over with sleet and freezing rain.

“The safety of New Yorkers is my top priority, and I continue to urge extreme caution throughout the duration of this storm,” Hochul stated in an announcement, admonishing residents to “avoid unnecessary travel.”

Ice storm warnings and winter climate advisories had been likewise posted for many of Pennsylvania, a lot of Massachusetts, and most of New Jersey, the place a state of emergency additionally was declared. High winds had been forecast as a part of the storm.

Snow started falling in western New York state and the New York City space on Friday night and was anticipated to accentuate on Saturday.

More than 1,600 business airline flights throughout the United States and into or overseas had been canceled on Friday, and seven,800-plus had been delayed as climate circumstances started to worsen, in accordance with the flight-tracking service FlightAware.

The three main airports serving the New York City space – John F. Kennedy, Newark Liberty International and LaGuardia Airport – accounted for the majority of Friday’s flight cancellations. All three issued alerts on social media platform X warning vacationers of potential disruptions.

Another 650 flights that had been scheduled to depart or land within the U.S. on Saturday had been canceled, FlightAware reported.

Representatives from American Airlines, United Airlines and JetBlue Airways instructed Reuters these carriers had waived change charges usually charged to re-book for passengers whose journey plans could also be affected by weather-related disruptions.

New Jersey and Pennsylvania issued business car restrictions for some roads, together with many interstate highways.

“This storm will cause dangerous road conditions and impact holiday travel,” New Jersey’s performing governor Tahesha Way stated in an announcement. “We are urging travelers to avoid travel during the storm and allow crews to tend to roads.”

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