NEW YORK: Children across parts of the US Northeast will stay home on Monday as a powerful winter storm forced school closures and pushed offices and transit systems onto emergency schedules, with officials across the region warning of heavy snow, strong winds and dangerous travel conditions.

The storm has already snarled travel along the East Coast from Washington to New England, with airlines cancelling thousands of flights and officials urging people to stay off the roads. Winter weather in the Northeast may also slow the processing, transport and delivery of mail and packages, the US Postal Service said.

New York City, the nation’s largest school district, ordered all public school buildings closed for a traditional snow day, with no remote instruction and all after-school programs cancelled.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared a state of emergency and ordered non-essential vehicles off city roads from Sunday night to noon Monday, saying ploughs and emergency crews needed the streets clear as snowfall intensified. The city is under its first blizzard warning since 2017.

City offices will close for in-person services, and non-essential municipal employees may work remotely. “I’m urging every New Yorker to please stay home,” Mamdani said.

Regional emergencies

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she had activated 100 National Guard members to assist in Long Island, New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley – areas expected to bear the brunt of the heavy snow and coastal winds. 

The storm also forced closure of the UN headquarters complex in Manhattan on Monday.

Parts of the Northeast could see up to two feet of snow and wind gusts could reach 70 mph, raising the risk of falling trees and power outages, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

In an update on Sunday, the agency said despite its ongoing funding lapse, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster‑response work continues uninterrupted, including staff travel, emergency operations, and critical assistance for people affected by active disasters, with life safety and property protection remaining top priorities.

Last week, Reuters reported that President Donald Trump’s administration had ordered FEMA to suspend the deployment of hundreds of aid workers to disaster-affected areas around the country while the DHS is shut down.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey declared an emergency and told state workers to stay home. Connecticut barred commercial vehicles from limited-access highways Sunday evening, exempting only emergency and essential deliveries.

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill declared a statewide emergency effective noon Sunday and urged residents to take the storm seriously. “People need to take this very seriously,” she told CNN.

Travel disruptions

Air travel was among the earliest casualties. Flight-tracking site FlightAware showed more than 5,000 flights already cancelled for Monday. 

Aviation analytics firm Cirium said more than 25,000 flights were scheduled to depart from the United States on Monday, with cancellations also rising for Tuesday, especially at major Northeast airports.

NJ TRANSIT suspended bus, light rail and Access Link service Sunday evening and halted statewide rail service by Sunday night, with operations resuming only when conditions allow.

In New England, the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority said it would suspend all service — including its RIde paratransit program — from Sunday night through Monday and would announce plans to resume service only when conditions improve.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Sunday ordered the shutdown of the city’s entire traffic network for all non-emergency travel as a powerful snowstorm began battering the northeastern United States.

Tens of millions of Americans — from Washington, D.C. to the state of Maine — braced for up to two feet (60 cm) of snow in some areas.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that blizzard conditions would “quickly materialize,” making travel extremely dangerous.

Snowfall was forecast at a rate of two to three inches per hour at the height of the storm, with nearly 54 million people in its projected path.

By Sunday evening, heavy snow had already reduced visibility across New York City, with parts of Wall Street barely visible from Brooklyn.

Authorities warned of potential power outages due to heavy snow accumulation and wind gusts of up to 60 miles (100 km) per hour.

In neighboring New Jersey, more than 22,000 customers were reported without electricity.

Mayor Mamdani declared that streets, highways, and bridges in the city would close from 9:00 pm Sunday until noon Monday, citing the scale of the storm as unprecedented in the past decade. Essential workers and emergency travel were exempt from the ban.

Meanwhile, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill declared a state of emergency, and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu closed public schools and municipal buildings ahead of the storm’s peak.

Forecasters also warned of possible coastal flooding from Delaware to Massachusetts, compounding the risk.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul cautioned residents that “the worst is yet to come,” urging them to stock up on essentials and remain indoors.

• Pilot ejects safely; aircraft may be written off.
• Exact cause remains under investigation.
• Third Tejas loss reported since induction.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has lost another HAL Tejas light combat aircraft in an accident earlier this month, Indian media reported, with the pilot ejecting safely as the fighter suffered severe damage during landing.

Initial reports described a suspected technical glitch involving onboard systems, while other accounts pointed to a possible brake failure after touchdown that led to a runway overrun and major airframe damage. The exact cause remains under investigation.

Indian media said the accident occurred during landing after a routine training sortie at an operational or forward air base, and that the aircraft may be written off due to the extent of damage.

Following the incident, Indian media reported that the IAF has grounded its fleet of around 30 single-seat Tejas jets to conduct intensive technical checks and a safety probe.

This is reported to be the third Tejas aircraft lost since induction. The first crash occurred near Jaisalmer in March 2024 after a firepower demonstration, with the pilot ejecting safely.

A second loss was reported during an aerobatic display at the Dubai Airshow in November 2025, when pilot Namansh Syal was killed after being unable to eject safely; an inquiry into that crash is still underway, according to the information provided.

The latest accident comes amid delays in the Tejas Mk1A programme, with deliveries described as running nearly two years behind schedule despite an order for 180 Mk1A fighters, Indian media reported.

Last September, India’s defence ministry signed another deal valued at INR 623.7 billion to procure 97 Tejas Mk-1A aircraft, described as a multi-role fighter capable of air defence, maritime reconnaissance and strike missions.

The IAF has not issued an official statement on the latest incident so far, according to the information provided.