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الوسم: travel disruption

  • Historic Blizzard Dumps Record Snow on US Northeast

    Historic Blizzard Dumps Record Snow on US Northeast

    A person walks through a winter blizzard in Somerville, Massachusetts, on February 23, 2026. — Reuters

    – Over two and a half feet of snow cripples the US Northeast.
    – At least 7,400 flights canceled, with thousands more delayed.
    – Millions are stranded as over 600,000 homes and businesses lose power.

    A powerful snowstorm blanketed parts of the U.S. Northeast with more than 30 inches (76.2 cm) of snow on Monday, bringing travel to a near halt for millions. Roads were impassable, train services shut down, and approximately 7,400 flights were called off.

    Numerous residents experienced power outages affecting homes and businesses. Officials, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, advised residents to stay off the streets to allow emergency crews to clear the snow. Schools in New York and surrounding areas were closed, and Broadway theaters suspended performances.

    “New York is still under a state of emergency,” Mamdani announced. “The travel ban lifted at noon today, but a hazardous travel advisory remains in effect until midnight.”

    By 1 p.m. ET, over 19 inches (48 cm) of snow had accumulated in Central Park, NYC, and Boston reported more than 14 inches, according to Bob Oravec, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. Winds gusting between 40 to 60 mph (64–100 kph) whipped up snowdrifts several feet high.

    “It might take a week to dig out,” Oravec estimated.

    Philadelphia received 14 inches of snow, while Providence, Rhode Island, was buried under a record-breaking 32 inches.

    Over 608,711 homes and businesses nationwide were without power as of Monday afternoon, per PowerOutage.us. This included about 10% of Massachusetts’ nearly 3 million electric customers.

    Long Island resident Sandra Wu, with 20 years living in the area, said she’d never witnessed a storm this intense. Her family couldn’t open their front door due to towering snowdrifts, and she described her efforts to clear the driveway as futile.

    “I tried to start digging us out early, but it was pointless,” said Wu, a veterinarian in her early 50s. She remembered similar storms from the 1990s during her time in Buffalo, where annual snowfall averages 92 inches.

    Her children, aged 13 and 5, enjoyed an unexpected snow day and slept in. “We thought we might lose power, but luckily, we didn’t. Today, we’re baking and waiting for the storm to pass.”

    Regional authorities across at least seven states declared states of emergency. Airlines canceled more than 7,400 flights and delayed around 2,300 others, primarily in major hubs like New York’s JFK and LaGuardia airports, Boston Logan, and Newark Liberty.

    Governor Kathy Hochul activated 100 National Guard members to assist with rescue operations in Long Island, New York City, and the lower Hudson Valley, which bore the brunt of the storm and heavy coastal winds. The storm caused the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan to close for the day.

    Despite a federal emergency funding lapse, the Department of Homeland Security assured that FEMA’s disaster response efforts would continue without interruption, including staff movement, emergency operations, and aid distribution.

    Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey declared a state of emergency and directed state workers to stay home. Connecticut limited commercial vehicle travel on highways, allowing only emergency and essential deliveries.

    Public transit was disrupted across New Jersey and Rhode Island, with bus and train lines halted until conditions improve. Some ships couldn’t leave port, including Wu’s in-laws, stranded aboard a cruise ship docked in New York Harbor en route to the Bahamas—though they’re making the best of the delay, enjoying their time with friends, food, and entertainment until the storm subsides.

  • Snowstorm Disrupts Travel Across South as Cold Front Spreads

    Snowstorm Disrupts Travel Across South as Cold Front Spreads

    A severe snowstorm continued to cause travel disruptions across southern US states on Sunday, bringing dangerously low temperatures to areas unprepared for such winter conditions.

    This latest severe weather event followed closely on the heels of a major storm last week that swept across much of the country, resulting in over 100 fatalities and widespread snow and ice accumulation that hampered communities’ recovery efforts.

    On Saturday, heavy snowfall blanketed North Carolina and neighboring states, prompting officials to advise residents to avoid travel and warning that coastal structures were at risk from the storm’s impact.

    All of North and South Carolina, along with parts of Georgia, eastern Tennessee, Kentucky, and southern Virginia, were under winter storm warnings. In North Carolina, there were 750 car crashes reported on Saturday alone, according to state highway officials.

    North Carolina’s Faust recorded 14.5 inches of snow, while West Critz, Virginia, received about 12.5 inches. Meanwhile, Harrisburg, Tennessee, saw more than nine inches of accumulation. In Cape Carteret, North Carolina, strong winds pushed snow horizontally, prompting the National Weather Service to warn of treacherous, potentially life-threatening travel conditions, especially if stranded.

    In dramatic footage from Gastonia, North Carolina, a train collided at high speed with a semi-truck that was stuck on the tracks, destroying the truck but causing no injuries.

    The storm weekend led to over 1,800 flight cancellations at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, a significant hub for American Airlines, according to FlightAware data. The airport deployed a 300-member snow removal team to clear runways, taxiways, and nearby roads.

    Similarly, over 600 flights were canceled Saturday at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world’s busiest airport, with about 50 flights disrupted early Sunday.

    The National Weather Service warned that a rapidly intensifying coastal cyclone would continue to produce heavy snow, strong winds, and even blizzard conditions in the Carolinas. An arctic air surge behind the storm is expected to drive below-freezing temperatures as far south as South Florida by Sunday morning.

    On Saturday, Davis, West Virginia, recorded the coldest temperature in the contiguous US at -28°F (-33°C). Early Sunday, approximately 156,000 customers remained without power, primarily across the southern states, with Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana experiencing the most outages.

    In North Carolina, the National Park Service announced the closure of campgrounds and some beaches in the Outer Banks, a string of barrier islands vulnerable to storm damage. Oceanfront properties were under threat, and a section of highway through the dunes was shut down.

    In Mississippi, Governor Tate Reeves stated that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers helped set up generators at critical locations, and around 79 shelters and warming centers were opened statewide.

    The frigid conditions also caused NASA to delay a key rocket fueling test scheduled at Cape Canaveral, Florida, jeopardizing at least a few days’ delay for a planned manned mission around the Moon set for later this month.

  • Devastating Flash Floods Claim Two Lives in NJ; NYC Streets Underwater

    Devastating Flash Floods Claim Two Lives in NJ; NYC Streets Underwater

    This image depicts a site in Plainfield, New Jersey, that was inundated with rainwater on July 15, 2025. — X@Top_Disaster/Screenshot

    NEW YORK: Tragically, two people lost their lives in New Jersey due to severe flash floods caused by intense storms that battered the New York City area from Monday night through Tuesday, resulting in submerged vehicles and flooded subway stations.

    The rapid downpour resulted in significant flooding of streets and underground transit systems, severely disrupting travel at airports, on highways, and across rail services. Emergency responders worked tirelessly overnight as rising water levels trapped vehicles and halted normal activities in the area.

    In Manhattan’s Central Park, over 2 inches (5 cm) of rain fell in just one hour, marking the second highest hourly rainfall ever recorded, according to Mayor Eric Adams.

    Videos captured on Monday evening showed deluges rushing into multiple underground subway stations, including a massive gush of water surging into one on Manhattan’s West Side.

    Authorities indicated that the city’s transit infrastructure could not handle the excessive rainfall in such a short period. The aging sewer system is designed for approximately 1.75 inches (4.44 cm) of rain per hour, while the downpour exceeded 4 inches an hour at the storm’s peak, as noted by Rohit Aggarwala, the city’s environmental protection commissioner.

    “I can’t recall witnessing rainfall of this magnitude before,” commented Adams.

    New Jersey’s Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency, announcing the unfortunate deaths of two residents in Plainfield whose vehicle was swept away by floodwaters.

    The authorities discovered the victims inside a submerged vehicle, Murphy informed the press.

    He highlighted that certain areas experienced about 6 inches (15.25 cm) of rainfall within a span of less than two and a half hours, and flooding occurred in regions that had never seen such events before. The governor attributed the increasing frequency and severity of these extreme weather events to climate change.

    “This is our new reality,” he remarked.

    In Westchester County, just north of New York City, emergency teams conducted multiple water rescues as vehicles became trapped and roads closed due to flooding. Nearby in Rockland County, the suburb of Nanuet recorded over 5 inches (12.7 cm) of rain, as reported by the National Weather Service.

  • Beijing’s Cold Winds Disrupt Travel and Close Key Attractions

    Beijing’s Cold Winds Disrupt Travel and Close Key Attractions

    Emergency responders remove tree branches after strong winds caused damage to a power pole on a street in Beijing, China April 12, 2025. — Reuters 

    BEIJING: The capital of China took precautions on Saturday as unusual typhoon-like winds swept through northern areas, resulting in the closure of historical sites and major travel disruptions, accompanied by late-season snow and hail in some regions.

    The winds, fueled by a cold vortex from neighboring Mongolia, rattled windows and toppled trees onto sidewalks and vehicles, causing a drop in temperatures.

    Starting on Friday, these winds are expected to persist throughout the weekend, reaching speeds of up to 150 kilometers per hour (about 90 mph), according to the official Xinhua news agency. Inner Mongolia experienced late snowfall, while southern China saw hailstorms.

    This weekend, Beijing issued its second-highest wind alert for the first time in ten years, cautioning its 22 million residents to avoid unnecessary travel as the winds could break April records set in 1951.

    After receiving earlier warnings, some locals expressed anxiety but attempted to go about their routines.

    “It wasn’t as bad as I expected—it’s not completely unmanageable, but it’s definitely affecting daily life,” noted a 30-year-old resident named Li.

    By 2 PM (0600 GMT), the winds had uprooted 703 trees in Beijing, and cancellations affected 693 flights at the city’s two major international airports—Beijing Capital and Beijing Daxing, according to state media reports.

    Social media buzzed with conversations about the winds, with many users voicing concerns for food delivery personnel braving the harsh conditions.

    “We can opt not to order delivery in weather like this—it’s just too challenging for them,” commented one user on Weibo.

    The severe winds led to the rescheduling of a half-marathon planned for Sunday, where humanoid robots were to compete against humans to highlight China’s technological progress.

    Simultaneously, sandstorms sweeping from Inner Mongolia to the Yangtze River region have severely hindered road travel across eight provinces, as reported by Xinhua and state broadcaster CCTV.

    These sandstorms are predicted to affect Shanghai from Saturday afternoon until Sunday morning.

    While strong winds carrying sand and dust from Mongolia are typical in spring, climate change has intensified these weather phenomena.