US snowstorms: More than 1,200 flights cancelled, schools closed in northeast region

The northeastern United States was hit by a powerful winter storm on Tuesday (Feb 13) which prompted airlines to cancel more than 1,200 flights and led many school districts to cancel classes.

Chaos in northeast US

A winter storm has battered the region dumping enough snow on New York City for the first time in two yearsand necessitating the use of ploughs, said local officials.

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According to the city’s emergency notification system, around 10-20 centimetres of snow and wind gusts up to 64 kilometres per hour were expected. It added, “Avoid unnecessary travel. If you must travel, use mass transit.”

As of early Tuesday, airlines have cancelled more than 1,220 flights in the NYC area, including 43 per cent of flights at New York’s domestic LaGuardia airport, reported AFP citing data from aviation tracker Flight Aware.

One in five flights were also reportedly cancelled at NYC’s main air hub John F Kennedy International Airport.

Additionally, multiple accidents were reported across the region, as per the Associated Press, prompting officials to ban tandem and empty tractor-trailers from highways.

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According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the highest snowfall totalsaround 20 centimetres and additional snow is expected in northern New York City suburbs andConnecticut, Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts.

The NWS also warned of some coastal flooding along the Massachusetts coast. All non-essential Executive Branch employees were asked not to report to work on Tuesday by Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey.

Meanwhile, schools in Boston were closing and a parking ban was in effect until 4:00 pm (local time). Mayor Michelle Wu said the city’s homeless shelters would remain open.

Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee signed an executive order to shut all state government offices, on Tuesday, as well as banned tractor-trailer travel on all interstates and state roads starting at midnight.

The ban was in coordination with Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York, said McKee.

Remote learning in NYC fails

Schools in NYC tried to switch to remote learning, however, the online learning system that serves the nation’s largest school district experienced a technical issue on Tuesday morning, preventing around 915,000 students from attending classes.

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The issue left many students and their parents frustrated as they reportedly spent hours logging in.

“I just spent almost an hour trying to log in and log out,” Chong Bretillon, a parent in Queens, said, as quoted by AP. She received repeated errors as she tried to gain access to a Zoom room for her elementary school student.

“Everyone’s frustrated,” Bretillon said. However, New York Mayor Eric Adams defended the decision saying it was necessary because of learning losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

(With inputs from agencies)