Blizzard cancels thousands of flights as NYC braces for 18 to 22 inches of snow
New estimates predict New York City could see nearly two feet of snow, as all five boroughs brace for a snowstorm that could rival the record books.
The storm will begin with light snowfall, but the squall will “rapidly worsen,” with severe weather reaching around 9 p.m. Sunday and persisting until 9 a.m. Monday, officials with the municipal emergency management office predicted 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
On Saturday, many forecasters predicted an accumulation of 13 to 17 inches, but on Sunday the storm looked even more severe.
Nearly 2,200 roundtrip flights had been canceled at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports as of late Sunday morning, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.com.
The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning Saturday for all five boroughs, as well as Long Island, the lower Hudson Valley, southern Connecticut and much of New Jersey. New York City last experienced a blizzard warning in 2017.
On Sunday morning, Mayor Mamdani warned of possible snowfall of 18 to 22 inches, announced that homeless outreach teams would “work 24/7” and that the sanitation department would be “prepared for the snow.”
Mamdani was criticized for his handling of a historic cold snap and snowstorm on January 25. Eighteen New Yorkers died outside amid questions about his decision to end Adams-era sweeps of homeless encampments. Trash piled up on city streets and several bus stops were blocked by piles of snow days after the storm.
Sunday’s snowfall could be among the biggest snowstorms the city has seen in a century and a half. Central Park saw a record 27.5 inches of snow in January 2016, surpassing the previous record of 26.9 inches set in February 2006. Before that, Central Park saw 26.4 inches during a post-Christmas storm in 1947.
