A winter storm slammed the U.S. Northeast with howling winds and frigid cold, dumping nearly 2 feet (60 centimeters) of snow on some areas and leaving 16 people dead amid blizzard-like conditions on Friday.
As motorists and homeowners in the eastern U.S. began digging out of the snow and ice, officials from the upper Midwest to New England were preparing for another arctic blast over the next few days that could be even worse.
By midday on Friday, about 2,200 flights were cancelled nationwide, according to the aviation tracking website FlightAware.com. Most were in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
Governors in New York and New Jersey declared states of emergency, urging residents to stay at home. Hundreds of schools were shut down in Boston and New York, extending the holiday break for tens of thousands of students.
“This is nothing to be trifled with,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “People should seriously consider staying in their homes.”
The heaviest snow fell north of Boston in Boxford, Massachusetts, which received nearly 2 feet (0.61 meters). Nearly 18 inches (46 centimeters) fell in Boston and in western New York near Rochester. New York’s Central Park and Philadelphia each got 6 inches (15 centimeters).
The storm has led to at least 16 deaths as it sweeps across the eastern half of the U.S. Slick roads have caused traffic deaths in Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois.
A massive pile of salt fell on a worker at a Philadelphia storage facility, killing him. And authorities say a woman with Alzheimer’s disease froze to death after she wandered away from her rural New York home.
Forecasters said temperatures were plummeting to well below freezing, and wind chill readings could hit minus 10 Fahrenheit (minus 23 Celsius).
Another wave of cold air already was moving through the Midwest after coming down from Canada.
Outreach teams were searching streets in New York City and Boston for homeless people at risk of freezing to death.
Some major highways in New York state were shut down overnight, and some commuter trains around New York City were operating on a reduced schedule.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ordered nonessential state workers to stay home on Friday. State offices and courthouses were closed. State offices were also closed in Massachusetts.
The heavy weather began rolling in on Thursday, just a day after New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was sworn in to lead the nation’s largest city.
Mayor De Blasio, who in 2010 criticized predecessor Mayor Michael Bloomberg for his handling of a post-Christmas storm, said 1,700 snowploughs and 450 salt spreaders hit the streets.
