5,000 flights cancelled as monster blizzard bears down on US northeast
New York City mayor warns that it could be largest one ever as flights are cancelled and warnings issued from New Jersey to Canadian border
The US northeast braced for a monster winter storm yesterday, with residents snapping up supplies ahead of what New York City's mayor warned could be a blizzard "the likes of which we've never seen before".
The stage was set for a possibly historic "nor'easter" that would affect an area extending from central New Jersey to the Canadian border from yesterday to tomorrow, the National Weather Service said.
Officials in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington urged residents to stay home as they prepared for a storm that could dump up to about a metre of snow in some areas.
"We are facing most likely one of the largest snow storms in the history of this city," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
"My message to all New Yorkers is to prepare for something worse than we have seen before. Take every precaution. Now is the time to get ready for this extreme weather. Don't underestimate the storm," the mayor warned city residents. The US Weather Channel referred to the cold blast as a "possibly historic" winter storm.
More than 2,600 flights were cancelled yesterday, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware, while more than 2,800 flights were scrapped for today.