NEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters) – Children in several parts of the northeastern United States will stay home on Monday as a severe winter storm forced schools to close and prompted offices and public transportation systems to adopt emergency schedules, with authorities across the region warning of heavy snow, high winds and dangerous travel conditions.
The 🏽storm has already disrupted travel along the US East Coast, from Washington to New England, with airlines canceling thousands of flights and authorities asking people not to take to the streets. Winter weather in the Northeast could also slow the processing, transportation and delivery of mail and packages, the United States Postal Service said.
New York City, the nation’s largest school district, ordered all public schools to close for a traditional snow day, with no remote classes and all extracurricular programs canceled.
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared a state of emergency and ordered non-essential vehicles to stay off city streets from Sunday night until noon Monday, saying snow plows and emergency crews needed the streets clear as the snow intensified. The city is under its first snowfall warning since 2017.
City offices will close for in-person service, and non-essential city employees will be able to work remotely. “I urge all New Yorkers to stay home,” Mamdani said.
REGIONAL EMERGENCIES
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she has activated 100 members of the National Guard to help in Long Island, New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley — areas expected to bear the brunt of heavy snowfall and coastal winds. The storm also forced the closure of the United Nations (UN) headquarters complex in Manhattan this Monday.
Parts of the Northeast could see up to 2 feet of snow and wind gusts that could reach 70 mph, increasing the risk of falling trees and power outages, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
In an update on Sunday, the agency said that despite a lack of funding, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (Fema) disaster response work continues uninterrupted, including employee travel, emergency operations and critical assistance to people affected by active disasters, with life safety and property protection remaining top priorities.
Last week, Reuters reported that President Donald Trump’s administration ordered FEMA to suspend the deployment of hundreds of aid workers to disaster-affected areas across the country.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey declared an emergency and told public employees to stay home. Connecticut banned commercial vehicles from limited-access highways Sunday night, exempting only emergency and essential deliveries.
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill declared a statewide emergency starting at noon Sunday and urged residents to take the storm seriously.
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(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago; Additional reporting by Tatiana Bautzer in New York and Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru)
