Winter storm bears down on U.S. Northeast, disrupting airline travel

A winter storm packing a frosty mix of snow and ice bore down on the U.S. Northeast early on Saturday, disrupting post-holiday weekend airline traffic and prompting officials in New York and New Jersey to issue weather emergency declarations.



The National Weather Service posted ice storm and winter storm warnings throughout New York state and Connecticut, forecasting some of the heaviest snowfall totals - up to a foot in localized areas - for Long Island and the Hudson Valley.





New York City could see its highest accumulations since 2022, with peak snowfall rates of 2 or more inches per hour, according to an emergency declaration on Friday from Governor Kathy Hochul, warning of treacherous road conditions.



In many areas snow was forecast to be mixed or glazed over with sleet and freezing rain.



Snow began falling in western New York state and the New York City area on Friday evening and was expected to intensify on Saturday.



More than 1,600 commercial airline flights within the United States and into or out of the country were canceled on Friday, and 7,800-plus were delayed as weather conditions began to worsen