New York's Mayor Mamdani orders citywide travel ban as major storm hits US

"Tens of millions of Americans from the US capital Washington to the northern state of Maine prepared for up to two feet (60 centimeters) of snow forecast in some areas. 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."

"In New York, which has more than eight million people, Mamdani said streets, highways and bridges would be shut down from 9:00 pm Sunday until noon Monday. "New York City has not faced a storm of this scale in the last decade," he said, explaining the state of emergency. "We are asking New Yorkers to avoid all non-essential travel." The ban will not apply to essential workers or New Yorkers needing to travel due to emergencies."

"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."

Massive snow and high winds struck the US Northeast, with forecasts of up to two feet (60 centimeters) of snow in some areas and snowfall rates of two to three inches per hour at peak. The National Weather Service warned blizzard conditions from Maryland through southeastern New England and cited nearly 54 million people in the storm's path. New York City declared a state of emergency and closed streets, highways and bridges from 9:00 pm Sunday until noon Monday for all but emergency travel. Officials warned of low visibility, gusts up to 60 miles per hour, likely power outages and extremely dangerous travel conditions; essential workers and emergency travel are exempted.

Read at Le Monde.fr