Snowstorm hits US east coast

A huge snowstorm brought chaos to the United States' east coast Monday, canceling thousands of flights, closing schools and forcing the postponement of coronavirus vaccinations as New York City steeled itself for possibly one of its heaviest ever snowfalls. The  storm with winds blowing from the northeast - could bring accumulations of 1 to 2 feet (31 cm to 61 cm) to the country’s most densely populated region before tapering off on Tuesday, the National Weather Service said. The storm had dumped as much as 27 inches (68 cm) of snow in parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania and 17 inches (43 cm) in parts of New York City. More than 13 inches (33 cm) covered Manhattan’s Central Park, as bands of snow began moving north into New England.

New York declared a "state of emergency" that restricted non-essential travel, moved all children back to remote learning and rescheduled long-awaited vaccine shots as the city braced for almost two feet (60 centimeters) of snow. Salt trucks and snow plows moved out across New York's streets, already quieter than usual due to Covid-19, as Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the few children who had returned to pandemic-era classrooms would also stay at home on Tuesday.

More than 1,600 US flights were canceled -- mostly at airports in New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington -- disrupting travel that has already been heavily curtailed by the pandemic.Airlines canceled all flights in and out of LaGuardia Airport and JFK Airport, while 71 percent of flights were scrapped at Newark Liberty Airport."This is a dangerous, life-threatening situation," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters.If that much falls in the Big Apple, then it would become the city's eighth-biggest snowstorm since records began in 1869."This is expected to be one of the bigger snowfall events for New York City," Matthew Wunsch, a National Weather Service forecaster,

New Jersey issued a state of emergency, allowing authorities to close roads, evacuate homes and commandeer equipment needed for public safety. Philadelphia also declared a snow emergency, closing city government buildings for Monday and ordering residents to move their cars off snow emergency routes so the plows can get through. The storm hit mountainous parts of California with more than six feet of snow and heavy rain last week. It then moved to the Midwest, dumping about eight inches of snow in Chicago, according to the NWS.