NYC declares state of emergency, all streets and bridges closing to regular traffic

Mayor Mamdani declared a state of emergency Sunday as forecasts estimated the blizzard bearing down on New York City could bring nearly two feet of snow.

“Please, stay inside if you can,” Mamdani urged New Yorkers from his X account. He also encouraged people to call 311 if they see anyone in need of assistance.

As of 9 p.m. Sunday, all streets, highways and bridges will be closed until noon Monday, Mamdani announced. Only essential and emergecy vehicles will be allowed to travel city streets.

The state of emergency also prompted the first full public school snow day in years for Monday, with no remote learning.

The storm will start with light snow at first but the squall will “worsen rapidly,” with the severe weather hitting about 9 p.m. Sunday and persisting until 9 a.m. Monday, city Office of Emergency Management officials said Sunday.

“Snowfall rates could reach 2 to 3 inches per hour, with total accumulations of 18 to 22 inches and higher totals possible in heavy snow bands,” Emergency Management officials posted on X. “Wind gusts up to 55 mph will create blowing and drifting snow, whiteout conditions, and severe travel hazards. Moderate coastal flooding is also expected during high tide in vulnerable areas.”

On Saturday, many forecasters had been predicting 13 to 17 inches of accumulation, but by Sunday the storm was looking even more severe.

Nearly 2,200 outgoing and incoming flights had been cancelled at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark Airports by late Sunday morning, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.com.

The National Weather Service on Saturday issued a blizzard warning across all five boroughs, as well as for Long Island, the Lower Hudson Valley, southern Connecticut and much of New Jersey. New York City last saw a blizzard warning in 2017.

On Sunday morning, Mayor Mamdani warned of a possible 18 to 22 inches of snow, announced that homeless outreach teams would be “working 24/7,” and that the Sanitation Department would be “ready to take on the snow.”

Mamdani took heat for his management of a historic cold snap and Jan. 25 snowstorm. Eighteen New Yorkers died outside amid questions about his decision to end Adams-era homeless encampment sweeps. Garbage piled up on city streets and several bus stops were blocked by piles of snow days after the storm.

Sunday’s snowfall could rank among the city’s biggest snowstorms in the past century and a half. Central Park saw a record-breaking 27.5 inches of snow in January 2016, topping the previous 26.9-inch record set in February 2006. Before that, Central Park saw 26.4 inches in a post-Christmas storm in 1947.

Several New Yorkers appeared blindsided by the sudden storm of white.

“I thought it was gonna be a normal day but ends up, out of nowhere, the snow came back. I was like, ‘Damn’,” said Peter C., 36, from Flatbush. “I feel tired of it. I’m gonna be honest with you. But you know, I know for the kids, they like it. For me, I’m older now, so I used to like it, but it’s not the same like it used to be.”

Peter hopes stores will be open tomorrow. “I didn’t get any supplies,” he said.

“I think it was too soon for them to close school, because it’s just started snowing, you know,” said Kay John, 27, who has a pre-K student in a charter school.

John, who works as a caregiver for mentally disabled people, still has to go to work tomorrow, “so I’m in a bind, they don’t close work at all.”

John said she doesn’t know who will watch her daughter when she is home for the snowday. “I don’t know, we’re gonna figure it out tomorrow,” John said.

Others faced the slowly accumulating powdered dunes with similar wearied determination.

“This my first time to work in the snow,” said a delivery worker who gave his name only as “Dillo.”

“It’s really hard. It’s not easy,” said Dillo, 29. “I just have to do this delivery, then I come back to home.”