New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani orders citywide shutdown as snowstorm hits

The city’s entire traffic network has been shut down except for emergency travel as a severe snowstorm hits northeast US.Published On 23 Feb 2026New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has declared a state of emergency, ordering the shutdown of the city’s entire traffic network for all but emergency travel as a severe snowstorm hits the northeast United States.“NYC, we’ve declared a local state of emergency ahead of this blizzard. Stay safe, New York,” he posted on X late on Sunday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3PM Sanae Takaichi’s party wins supermajority in Japan snap electionslist 2 of 3Safety concerns resurface after Vonn’s skis didn’t release in Olympic crashlist 3 of 3Law enforcement says eight killed by avalanche in California mountainsend of listThe National Weather Service (NWS) warned that a severe winter storm would bring heavy snow, strong winds, and coastal flooding from the coastal mid-Atlantic to Maine through Monday.Snowfall rates of up to 3 inches (7.6cm) per hour will occur at times, with snowfall totals as high as 12 to 24 inches (30.5-61cm), resulting in “nearly impossible travel conditions”, the NWS said. Gusts of up to 60mph (100km/h) were likely late Sunday and into Monday, it added.Workers clear snow from a street in New York City [Jeenah Moon/Reuters]Power outages are also anticipated due to strong winds combined with the weight of heavy, wet snow, it added. As of 7:30pm on Sunday (00:30 GMT on Monday), at least 22,895 customers were without power in the state of New Jersey, according to tracking website poweroutage.us.Blizzard warnings have been issued by the weather service in New York state’s NYC and Long Island; Boston, Massachusetts; as well as coastal communities in New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and Rhode Island. Emergency declarations were issued in New York and New Jersey in advance of the storm, as officials mobilised readiness efforts.“It’s been a while since we’ve had a major nor’easter and major blizzard of this magnitude across the Northeast,” Cody Snell, a meteorologist at the NWS’s Weather Prediction Center, told The Associated Press news agency. “This is definitely a major winter storm and a major impact for this part of the country,” he said.