A powerful winter storm with heavy snow and strong winds battered the northeastern United States on Sunday, effectively shutting down major airports in New York and Boston and paralyzing road traffic.
According to flight tracking site FlightAware, airlines canceled approximately 5,500 domestic and international flights as of 11 a.m. local time. About 13,000 flights were delayed. Including cancellations from the previous day when the storm began, the two-day total reached roughly 9,500 canceled flights and 37,000 delays.
Major airports near New York City and Boston experienced near-total shutdowns amid mass cancellations. John F. Kennedy International Airport saw 89% of departing flights canceled. LaGuardia Airport, which handles primarily domestic flights, canceled 98% of flights, followed by Boston Logan International Airport at 92%, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey at 91%, and Philadelphia International Airport at 82%.
Korean carriers including Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, and Air Premia have announced cancellations for some flights connecting Incheon with major East Coast cities such as New York and Boston.
According to the National Weather Service, the powerful storm carrying winds of 20-30 meters per second and heavy snow has been pounding northeastern coastal cities since the afternoon of Feb. 22. The storm is expected to affect Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island through Sunday afternoon.
Blizzard warnings remained in effect through Sunday afternoon for the affected areas. An estimated 40 million people are under the warnings.
Snow accumulated rapidly across the region. Parts of New York and New Jersey received approximately 30 centimeters of snow by Sunday morning, while coastal areas of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island were forecast to receive over 60 centimeters total. The NWS reported that northern Bergen County, New Jersey—home to a large Korean American population—recorded about 40 centimeters of snow by 2-3 a.m. Sunday. New York City was forecast to receive more than 45 centimeters.
The Wall Street Journal reported that New York City's blizzard warning was the first since March 2017—a nine-year gap. Boston received its first blizzard warning in four years since 2022. The WSJ described the weather event as a "bomb cyclone," referring to a rapidly intensifying low-pressure system.
The heavy snow and strong winds also caused widespread power outages. According to PowerOutage.us, approximately 600,000 households in storm-affected areas lost power as of 11 a.m. Sunday. Massachusetts and New Jersey were hit hardest, with 275,000 and 130,000 households without power, respectively.
Local governments declared states of emergency and ordered school closures for the day. New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency, warning that "this storm could be historic" and urging residents to stay home.