With blizzard warnings from the Mid-Atlantic to southern New England, officials in New Jersey and New York took the unusual step of imposing a travel ban overnight as the region braced for the worst winter storm since 1996.
"Blizzard conditions, including heavy snow, high winds, and whiteout conditions, are expected to cause dangerous to impossible travel across the local Tri-State region this evening through Monday afternoon," declared the National Weather Service.
Widespread power outages were expected and officials advised the public to keep their cell phones charged.
"Out of an abundance of caution, schools will be closed tomorrow," Mayor Mamdani told reporters at a Sunday press briefing. "We’ve also opened warming centers in all five boroughs to make sure no one is left out in the cold. I’m urging every New Yorker to please stay home. Check in on your neighbors, especially seniors and those who may need extra support. In moments like this, we show who we are as a city. We take care of each other."
"All non-essential vehicles must be off New York City streets from 9 p.m. Sunday to 12 p.m. Monday," according to Mayor Mamdani's advisory.
"That means, wherever you are in this region at 9 o'clock tonight, you'll have to stay there," Hochul said. "Do not think you're going to visit family and get on the roads at 10 o'clock and head home. It's not happening and it's not smart."
"Don't travel tonight. It's dangerous. This is a very heavy snow. These are incredibly high winds up to 60 miles per hour. That means we could be seeing branches and trees falling onto the highway, drifts, and whiteout conditions," warned New Jersey Governor Sherrill at her Sunday briefing.
"This is an intense storm and it is expected to continue throughout Monday morning and into the afternoon before finally tapering off," Connecticut Governor Lamont said in a statement. "I am urging everyone who does not need to be on the roads to avoid all unnecessary, non-essential travel and do their best to stay home and stay safe."
On Saturday, Gov. Hochul deployed 100 members of the state's National Guard to support local responses.
During last month’s winter storm Fern and the extended Arctic vortex, 18 New Yorkers perished despite the Mamdani administration's effort to get the thousands who live outside the city's shelter system indoors.
Mayor Mamdani said outreach workers had made inroads with scores of New Yorkers who were convinced to come indoors ahead of the blizzard.
While officials were optimistic that temperatures above freezing would make snow removal easier than during the deep freeze that followed Fern, they warned about significant tidal flooding along the New Jersey and New York coastline as well as in low-lying neighborhoods inland.
In New York City alone there are 50,000 basement apartments often vulnerable to flash floods. In 2021, during Hurricane Ida, 11 people drowned in unregulated basement apartments.
According to climate experts, the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, including severe winter storms, can be attributable to climate change.
During last month’s winter storm, Dr. Jennifer Francis, a researcher at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, told CNN that global higher temperatures were not the only worrisome feature of the climate crisis.
"Even though global warming is causing warmer winters overall, severe winter weather events are still possible and perhaps even more likely because warming is not the only consequence of human-caused climate change," Francis told CNN. "Other ingredients that set the stage for severe winter weather are on the rise, and many of them are in play this week."
