Millions of people across the Northeast are waking up on Monday to the first major winter storm of the year, with snow forecast of up to 2 feet and snow-like conditions across the region.
The National Weather Service has warned that there are predicted widespread blizzards from 30 to 60 centimeters from Pennsylvania to New England, including Philadelphia, New York and Boston, until Tuesday, with snow rates reaching 5 centimeters per hour.
NBC News meteorologist Bill Karins said the Tri-State area could see its biggest snowstorm in five years, while New York City can get between 30 and 16 inches of snow, with up to 20 inches possible if one of the tracks of heavy snow staying over the city Monday afternoon.
Karins said the forecast for the New York National Weather Service’s office is 21 inches in Central Park, which would combine it with the fourth largest snowstorm in New York City history.
Periods of light snow will continue to be intermittent until early Tuesday, he added.
The National Meteorological Service has warned that travel conditions will be “difficult or impossible” across the northeast.
Maryland State Patrol said Monday morning that it answered almost 900 calls and responded to 330 accidents and about 150 disabled or unaccompanied vehicles on Sunday.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a news conference on Sunday that schools would be closed on Monday and that authorities are rescheduling appointments for vaccination against the coronavirus.
“The last thing we want is to urge our elderly people to go out in the middle of a storm like this,” said de Blasio, warning residents not to underestimate the weather.
The mayor also tweeted that non-essential travel will be restricted in New York City from 6 am Monday as part of a local state of emergency.
“This winter storm will be dangerous with heavy snow and strong winds,” said de Blasio. “If you can stay at home, stay at home.”
Other states that have shut down major coronavirus vaccination centers include Rhode Island, New Jersey and Connecticut.
John F. Kennedy Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport canceled a total of more than 300 flights, or about 75 percent. LaGuardia Airport topped the list, with 90 percent of its flights canceled on Monday.
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The storm had already covered parts of the Midwest with the most snow that some places had seen in several years. Chicago had almost six inches of snow on Sunday morning. In Wisconsin, the depth of snow in some counties near Lake Michigan has reached more than 15 inches.
Snow has also hit the metropolitan Washington area, with more than two inches reported in several areas, but another round of snow is possible on Monday morning. Bad weather in the city prompted President Joe Biden to postpone the visit to the State Department planned for Monday, a White House official told NBC News.
