On Sunday, February 22, New York experienced a rare blizzard. This reporter and NYC resident hadn’t witnessed anything like it since 2016.
The blizzard was expected to cause 6-12 inches of snow, and due to this school was closed for K-12 students, and for college students classes were moved online in the morning on Monday. Parents had the day off from work and many stores were cancelled due to the snowstorm. However Upstate, for college students at University at Albany, for example, courses are moved online.
Due to the significance of the storm, as the conditions worsened city and state officials enforced higher safety and protections due to wanting more public safety and concern over emergency efforts.
According to the National Weather Service, blizzards can last up to three hours and can have strong winds of 35 mph. Due to these tough conditions, this could lead to traffic accidents and power outages.
Before the storm, Mayor Zohran Mamdani came out to speak to the people in New York City, telling them to stay protected. He insisted on the importance of people avoiding “all non-essential travel for their safety, stay home and stay inside and stay off the roads.” At a certain time cars weren’t allowed to be on the road due to the dangers of the snow, and Mamdani urged everyone to stay home.
With immediate safety concerns, the storm created economic disruptions. Parents had to stay home from work, students were either doing Zoom learning or had the day off from schooling, as well as many businesses either were closed for the day or experienced shortage of staff due to the storm.
Blizzards lead to emergency budgeting and planning spending for however long it may last. When blizzards usually occur, supermarkets tend to go out of stock with many foods and toiletries because of how scared people may be for how long a blizzard may last. Due to this emergency, budgeting as well as communication with agencies play a crucial role on the long-term effects of businesses.
As the clean-up of the storm continues, officials would urge people to remain safe in the different weather changes and that through public coordination, they would ensure the safety of people especially for those who have to travel. Even though this blizzard was a shock to many, this blizzard would serve as an expand of how to prepare for future weather events.