Mamdani puts New Yorkers bracing 26 inches of snow under historic travel ban as map reveals blizzard bomb cyclone’s path of destruction: Live updates

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani ordered a citywide travel ban for the Big Apple, effective from 9pm ET on Sunday to 12pm ET on Monday.

‘These are blizzard conditions. New York City has not faced a storm of this scale in the last decade,’ he said at a Sunday press conference.

‘Due to these factors, we are declaring a state of emergency and instituting a travel ban starting at 9pm this evening and ending at 12pm tomorrow. The state of emergency closes the streets, highways and bridges of New York City for all traffic, cars, trucks, scooters, and ebikes, with some specific exemptions for essential and emergency movement.

‘We are asking New Yorkers to avoid all non-essential travel. Please, for your safety, stay home, stay inside, and stay off the roads.’

The mayor also detailed the harsh conditions expected to impact the city.

‘In total, this storm is projected to drop between 18 and 24 inches across New York City, coming up to 28 in certain areas,’ he said at a Sunday press conference,’ Mamdani said.

‘New Yorkers should also expect dangerous winds later today. They are predicted to reach 35mph with peak speeds of 40mph and 60mph isolated gusts occurring tomorrow morning around 8.00am.

‘Additionally, temperatures dropping into the 20s overnight will result in slippery streets, sidewalks and extremely hazardous conditions across our city.’

At a news briefing on Sunday evening, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont warned the storm ‘is going to be a bad one.’

He said that heavy winds along the coast up to 60mph are possible and will be hazardous, potentially causing downed trees.

Power outages are possible as well, the governor said.

He added that the state is prepared to respond to the storm with 800 snowplows.

NJ Transit is suspending all rail service starting at 9pm.

Some service will end prior to that time, but no trains will begin a new trip from their origin point after 9pm, it said.

DoorDash has announced it is suspending operations in New York City starting at 8.30pm ahead of the citywide travel ban.

‘New York City is bracing itself ahead of a historic blizzard – the first in nearly a decade – with a foot of snow or more and dangerous wind gusts expected,’ spokesperson Julian Crowley told ABC 7.

‘We’re suspending operations early to keep Dashers safe and off the streets before the travel ban takes effect.

‘We’re closely monitoring conditions and will resume as soon as it’s safe to do so.’

Travel bans have been enacted in New York ahead of the storm.

A travel ban in New York City begins at 9pm on Sunday and runs through noon on Monday, while travel bans on Long Island run until 9am on Monday and one in Westchester County runs until 10am on Monday.

‘We want people off the roads. You should be doing this voluntarily, but we have the state police who’s going to enforce this, so be aware of that,’ Governor Kathy Hochul said.

‘So that means wherever you are in this region, at 9 o’clock tonight, you’ll have to stay there.’

The Governor of New York said in a statement on Sunday: ‘New Yorkers should take this storm seriously, prepare now, monitor local forecasts and stay home throughout the duration of the storm.

‘Governor Hochul directed all non-essential State employees who live or work in counties with an active Blizzard Warning to stay home on Monday and work remotely, where feasible.

‘Private employers are also strongly encouraged to allow employees to work remotely on Monday.’

New York State has announced that all courthouses in New York City will be closed on Monday because of the incoming blizzard.

Courthouses in the surrounding counties will also be affected.

Only emergency applications will be accepted at some courthouses during the historic storm.

Shoppers stocked up on snow supplies ahead of a winter storm in Quincy, Massachusetts on Sunday.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared that New York City public schools will be closed on Monday due to the storm.

It is the first time in seven years that the nation’s largest public school system will close for a snow day rather than offer remote learning.

Blizzards are dangerous winter storms that are a combination of blowing snow and wind resulting in very low visibilities, according to the National Weather Service.

Officially, a blizzard is defined as a storm which contains large amounts of snow or blowing snow, with winds in excess of 35mph and visibilities of less than 1/4 mile for an extended period of time – at least three hours.

Heavy snowfalls and severe cold temperatures are no required to qualify as a blizzard, although they often occur during one.

It is possible for strong winds to pick up snow that has already fallen to create a blizzard.

Blizzard conditions often develop on the northwest side of an intense storm system, according to the weather service.

The difference between the lower pressure in the storm and the higher pressure to the west creates a tight pressure gradient, or difference in pressure between two locations, which in turn results in very strong winds.

These strong winds pick up available snow from the ground, or blow any snow which is falling, creating very low visibilities and the potential for significant drifting of snow.

Over 7,000 flights have been disrupted due to the storm.

At least 3,270 flights within, into or out of the United States had been canceled by 3.30pm ET on Sunday, and 4,214 had been delayed, according to FlightAware.

Approximately 4,552 flights had been preemptively canceled for Monday.