{"id":142679,"date":"2026-02-23T14:13:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T14:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/142679\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T14:13:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T14:13:09","slug":"severe-winter-storm-paralyzes-the-new-york-metropolitan-area-grounding-flights-and-closing-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/142679\/","title":{"rendered":"Severe winter storm paralyzes the New York metropolitan area, grounding flights and closing schools"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York City was put under a local State of Emergency, enforcing a temporary travel ban on February 22 as the storm intensified across the northeastern United States. The order restricts private vehicle movement on streets, bridges, and tunnels to allow uninterrupted snow removal and emergency response operations. <\/p>\n

All non-essential travel will remain restricted from 21:00 local time (LT) on February 22 through midday February 23. All public schools in the city will also be closed on February 23, with the exception of those that serve as warming centers.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s decision to suspend remote learning reintroduced the traditional \u201csnow day\u201d for the first time since 2019. While many U.S. districts have shifted to online instruction during weather closures, the mayor\u2019s order explicitly paused both in-person and virtual classes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be a traditional \u2018snow day.\u2019 No remote instruction will take place, and all after-school activities are cancelled,\u201d Mayor Mamdani said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe safety of New Yorkers is my top priority. As this blizzard moves in, our administration is mobilizing every tool at our disposal, around the clock, to keep our neighbors safe. This emergency declaration allows us to cut through red tape so emergency vehicles, sanitation crews, and essential workers can move quickly and do their jobs without delay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"YouTube<\/p>\n

All classes have been cancelled for Schools in New York and Boston, while online classes will be conducted in Philadelphia on February 23. <\/p>\n

While classes getting cancelled due to snowfall isn\u2019t new, most schools have shifted to online classes during such situations. However, the Mayor\u2019s declaration applies to both online and offline classes, giving a complete day off to staff and students alike.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the first old-school snow day since 2019,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n

\"YouTube\"YouTube<\/p>\n

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued blizzard warnings covering all five boroughs. Verified storm total snowfall measurements as of 02:27 EST on February 23 show significant variation across the metropolitan area. Central Park recorded 23.6 cm (9.3 inches), while LaGuardia Airport measured 23.1 cm (9.1 inches) and John F. Kennedy International Airport reported 19.8 cm (7.8 inches).<\/p>\n

Higher totals were reported in parts of Manhattan and the outer boroughs, including 28.2 cm (11.1 inches) in Washington Heights, 29.7 cm (11.7 inches) in Flatbush, 30.5 cm (12 inches) in Mott Haven, and 35.6 cm (14 inches) in Dongan Hills on Staten Island.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, heavy snow was also recorded across Long Island and northern New Jersey. Nesconset in Suffolk County measured 36.1 cm (14.2 inches), Leonia in Bergen County, New Jersey, reported 33 cm (13.0 inches), and Newark Airport recorded 28.2 cm (11.1 inches).<\/p>\n

Streets remained largely empty during the storm\u2019s peak as residents complied with the travel ban and business activity slowed. Sanitation and emergency crews maintained continuous plow rotations to keep priority routes open. Officials urged citizens to avoid non-essential travel until conditions improved and restrictions were lifted around midday February 23.<\/p>\n

\"YouTube\"YouTube<\/p>\n

Over 3 000 flights were cancelled across the Northeast during the height of the storm, affecting operations at John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, and Newark Liberty International Airport. Runway clearing operations and aircraft de-icing procedures were repeatedly impacted by persistent snowfall and wind-driven drifting.<\/p>\n

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) modified subway schedules, while portions of the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad suspended or reduced above-ground service due to snow accumulation and drifting. Bus operations were limited in areas experiencing deeper snowfall.<\/p>\n

\"YouTube\"YouTube<\/p>\n

Streets across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island remained largely empty during the height of the storm, as commercial activity slowed and delivery services temporarily suspended operations.<\/p>\n

Snow removal crews were deployed across primary corridors and emergency routes, repeating plow cycles as high winds redistributed snow across cleared surfaces. Officials urged residents to remain indoors and avoid non-essential travel until restrictions were lifted.<\/p>\n

The latest satellite imagery this morning shows a major nor\u2019easter taking on a classic comma-head structure as it rapidly intensifies off the Delaware\u2013New Jersey coastline, NWS forecaster Asherman noted at 03:22 EST on February 23.<\/p>\n

Overall, the forecast remains consistent with expected impacts from this powerful system. Very heavy snowfall rates of 50\u201375 mm (2\u20133 inches) per hour and gusty winds of 65\u2013110 km\/h (40\u201370 mph) will continue to affect the Northeast today, extending into New England this morning as the storm begins to accelerate.<\/p>\n

By tomorrow morning, some coastal areas could record storm-total snowfall amounts of 30\u201360 cm (1\u20132 feet) as the low moves into the Canadian Maritimes. For today, however, the combination of very high snowfall rates and potentially damaging wind gusts will make travel nearly impossible from the Delmarva Peninsula through southeastern New England.<\/p>\n

Beyond tomorrow, a progressive clipper system moving out of the Upper Great Lakes could produce additional snowfall across parts of the Northeast, including areas currently experiencing heavy snow.<\/p>\n

References:<\/p>\n

1 Mayor Mamdani Declares Local State of Emergency, Snow Day for NYC Public Schools to Keep New Yorkers Safe \u2013 New York City Government<\/a> \u2013 February 22, 2026<\/p>\n

2 Public Information Statement \u2013 NWS<\/a> \u2013 February 23, 2026<\/p>\n

3 Short Range Forecast Discussion \u2013 NWS\/WPC<\/a> \u2013 Issued at 03:22 EST on February 23, 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York City was put under a local State of Emergency, enforcing a temporary travel ban on February…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142680,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[31286,9,24,29,63,59932,134,136,135,1371,1372],"class_list":["post-142679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-blizzard","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-noreaster","tag-nyc","tag-significant-events","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-us-weather"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142679\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}