State of emergency declared as winter storm batters US North-East

New York and New Jersey have declared a state of emergency after a powerful winter storm slammed the North-Eastern United States, causing widespread travel chaos and power outages.

Blinding snow and fierce winds forced airports to halt operations and left thousands of homes in the dark.

The storm, which hit late Friday and intensified through Saturday, dumped heavy snow and ice across the North-East and the Great Lakes. New York’s airports became the epicentre of the disruption. By 2 p.m. local time on Saturday, flight tracking data showed over 5,500 flight delays across the U.S., with at least 860 cancellations.

At JFK International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported average landing delays of nearly two hours on Saturday morning. These disruptions triggered a ripple effect across the entire American aviation network just as holiday travel reaches its peak.

Fresh snow transformed New York City into a winter scene ❄️ Central Park and Times Square saw several inches overnight as a winter storm disrupted holiday travel. pic.twitter.com/YZXMrKiZWF

— AccuWeather (@accuweather) December 27, 2025

The timing is critical: approximately 2.86 million passengers were expected to fly this Sunday. Authorities fear the backlog will cause further cancellations during the busiest travel window of the festive season.

On the ground, the situation is equally perilous. Weather warnings stretch from New York to Philadelphia, with officials reporting closed roads and numerous traffic accidents. In Michigan, ice accumulation brought down trees and power lines, cutting electricity to more than 30,000 homes and businesses.

Governors in New York and New Jersey are urging residents to stay home. “Avoid unnecessary travel,” officials warned, as emergency crews struggle to clear roads and restore power in sub-zero temperatures. Repair teams are working around the clock, but authorities caution that some outages may persist as the storm moves east.