Thousands of flights were canceled today as millions of Americans in the Northeast braced for a winter storm that New York's mayor warned could be one of the biggest blizzards in history.
Snow, which was already falling across the region, is expected to accumulate steadily throughout the day before turning into a major storm expected to paralyze parts of New York and New England.
Officials in states along the US East Coast have urged residents to stay home as they prepare for Winter Storm Juno, which could dump up to three feet (about a meter) of snow in some areas.
The National Weather Service has issued blizzard warnings from New Jersey to the Canadian border, including New York and Boston. Coastal flood warnings are also in effect.
New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo said the National Guard was on standby in the Big Apple and Long Island.
More than 5,830 flights have been cancelled within, to or from the United States today and tomorrow, according to flightaware.Com.
Some airlines have waved change fees as major delays and widespread cancelations were anticipated.
New York and New Jersey governors declared states of emergency, ordered people to leave work early, roads to close and said that transit systems would be severely disrupted on tomorrow.
"It could be a matter of life and death, and that's not being overly dramatic, so caution is required," Cuomo told a news conference.
There will be limited service in the New York subway system after 8:00 pm, commuter rail services may close at 11:00 pm, and a travel ban could be imposed if weather updates merit, Cuomo said.
Officials said 50 percent of flights at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport had been cancelled, but said JFK and the city's LaGuardia airport would remain open for emergency flights.
Boston's Logan international airport will see no flights from today evening until Wednesday afternoon, reports said.
