NEW YORK: A storm developing into a howling blizzard throwing snow two inches per hour bore down on more than 20 states in the Northeast and Midwest America messing up all travel by road and air on Friday. Around 120 million people were affected. The new mayor in New York warned people against venturing out on roads and pavements over a foot deep in
snow. The weather office did not rule out more visitations of the fury.
Thirteen deaths were attributed to the snow storm. New York, New Jersey and Boston declared a state of emergency. Schools were shut in New York on Friday to keep over a million kids stay indoors.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey's Chris Christie ordered Govt offices closed on Friday. New Jersey closed public schools in Hoboken and Jersey City. Cuomo ordered closure of three major
highways, stretching from Long Island to Albany.
The storm, which was followed unusually by chilly winds, forced cancellation of over 3000 fights. The JFK airport, Long Island Expressway and the New York Thruway were closed on Friday. Road conditions remain a mess across much of the region from New York City to Boston.
Flight tracking website FlightAware.com said nearly 2,500 US flights were canceled with another 7,000 delayed. Chicago's O'Hare International and Newark's Liberty International Airport were hit the worst, it said.
Temperatures plummeted. It was minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit in New York City, Boston and Philadelphia.
Boston saw more than two feet of snow overnight. Eighteen inches of snow fell in some of Chicago's northern
suburbs, and more than 12 inches of snow was recorded at Midway International Airport.
One exposed to the cold for extended periods can develop frostbite and hypothermia. It was winter's fury at its worst in Midwest
and Northeast America. Travellers were stranded.
The lower Mississippi Valley to the Atlantic coast had nearly 2 feet of snow. Northern Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, New England, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Providence and Boston were badly slammed. The National Weather Service had forecast much of the Northeast would see heavy snowfall on
Thursday and Friday. The storm crossed New York City on Friday to move onto New England.
A section of the American press saw the blast as a first challenge to the new mayor of New York Bill de Blasio - just days in office - who has been pushing a progressive agenda. He claimed thousands of km of roadways has been plowed in a day. Just two days old in his new position, De Blasio urged New Yorkers to exercise "extreme caution" and "limit exposure outdoors". The sidewalks and roads will make travel hazardous. There followed a comparison with former Mayor Michael Bloomberg for his inept handling of similar disasters.
