Blizzard Warnings Blanket US East Coast, Including New York City

ISTANBUL, Feb 22 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- Blizzard warnings have been issued across a wide stretch of the US East Coast as a powerful winter storm threatened to unleash heavy snow, strong winds, and coastal flooding from the Mid-Atlantic to New England, Anadolu Ajansi reported.

The US National Weather Service said early Saturday that nearly 30 million people were under blizzard warnings from Sunday morning through Monday afternoon, including residents of New York City, where forecasters said snowfall could reach up to 18 inches, with as much as 2 feet possible in some areas.

The warnings span from Delaware to southern Connecticut, with the heaviest snowfall expected Sunday night into early Monday. Snowfall rates could exceed 1 to 2 inches per hour at times, according to the Weather Service.

It marks the first blizzard warning issued for New York City since 2017. The city last experienced a record-breaking snowfall in 2016, when 27.5 inches were recorded in Central Park, the highest total since record-keeping began in 1869.

Forecasters warned that sustained winds of 25-35 mph could reduce visibility to near zero and increase the risk of power outages and coastal flooding, according to The New York Times.

Travel conditions are expected to become “dangerous, if not impossible", particularly during Monday morning and evening commutes in major cities, including Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston.

Washington, DC, is forecast to see a mix of rain and snow early Sunday, transitioning to all snow by midday, with accumulations of up to 5 inches expected.

Philadelphia could receive up to 12 inches, while New York City and surrounding areas – including Long Island, northeastern New Jersey, and coastal and southern Connecticut – may see 15-20 inches or more, depending on the storm’s track.

Meteorologists described the system as a classic nor'easter, expected to develop off the coast of the Carolinas before rapidly intensifying as it tracks northward offshore.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said sanitation crews were preparing more than 700 salt spreaders and outfitting 2,200 vehicles with ploughs ahead of the storm. A workforce of 2,600 employees, including 1,000 emergency snow shovellers, is scheduled to begin operations early Sunday.

The city is also inviting residents to sign up as paid emergency snow shovellers at local sanitation facilities as the storm begins.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU