Northeast U.S. gripped by powerful blizzard as NYC shuts down traffic

A massive snowstorm began slashing the northeastern United States on Sunday evening, placing nearly 54 million people under weather alerts from the U.S. capital Washington to the northern state of Maine.

The National Weather Service (NWS) said blizzard conditions would "quickly materialize" from Maryland up to southeastern New England, making travel "extremely treacherous."

Snow could fall at a rate of two to three inches per hour at the peak of the storm, with nearly 54 million people in its path, it said.

On Sunday evening, the storm had already begun to hit New York, slashing visibility to the extent that the skyscrapers of Wall Street were barely visible from the adjacent borough of Brooklyn.

Power outages are likely, due to heavy snow and strong wind gusts, forecasters said. As of 7:30 pm local time, at least 22,895 customers were without power in the state of New Jersey, according to tracking website poweroutage.us.

Gusts of up to 100 kilometers per hour were expected late Sunday and into Monday, the NWS said.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Sunday ordered the shutdown of the city's entire traffic network except for emergency travel.

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill declared a state of emergency beginning midday Sunday, freeing up funds and allowing the swift deployment of resources to address the weather crisis.

In Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu closed all public schools and municipal buildings on Monday.

"We ask everyone to plan ahead, stay safe and warm, and stay off the roads to help our public works and public safety efforts," Wu said.

The NWS said "moderate to major" coastal flooding affecting waterfront roads and properties was possible from Delaware up to Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

The storm comes just weeks after the region recovered from another devastating winter weather system that was linked to more than 100 deaths.

"The worst is yet to come," New York Governor Kathy Hochul told a press briefing Sunday.

(With input from AFP)