Thousands of travellers are experiencing major transport disruption in the United States, where New York is under its first blizzard warning for nearly a decade, and road, rail, and air networks from Baltimore to Washington, DC, and Delaware and Maryland to New York and Boston are being hit by what AccuWeather senior meteorologist Carl Erickson has called “treacherous travel conditions.”
Up to 60cm of snow could fall in the worst hit areas, while winds are expected to reach 96 km in places, threatening to bring down trees and create airborne hazards, and coastal flooding could put up to 30 million people at risk of power outages.
Updated cancellation totals as airlines prepare for another east coast winter storm.
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) February 22, 2026
Sun, 22 Feb Total: 2,831
· AA 808
· DL 637
· B6 408
· UA 338
· WN 234
· NK 89
Mon, 23 Feb Total: 3,472
· AA 1304
· B6 701
· UA 481
· DL 435
· WN 190
· 9K 78
· NK 74 pic.twitter.com/JIYcH0p1z3
More than 6,000 flights have been cancelled at the time of writing, according to Flight Aware data, until the predicted decline of the blizzard warning on Monday, but schedules are likely to be affected until Tuesday or Wednesday in some cases, with major carriers such as American, Delta, JetBlue, and United among those grounded at LaGuardia, Newark, and Boston as well as airports in Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, for drivers, moderate to major coastal flooding is predicted along Delaware and the Jersey Shore to Long Island’s Suffolk & Nassau counties and southern New England during Sunday night’s high tide, meaning road closures and impassable low-lying and vulnerable areas should be expected. NBC New York has said travel will be “dangerous to impossible near major I-95 cities like Philadelphia, New York, and Boston.”
A historic winter #storm is battering the #US Northeast, putting 59 million people under weather alerts, including about 40 million facing blizzard warnings. The National Weather Service has warned of "extremely treacherous" conditions. Travel restrictions are in place in several… pic.twitter.com/IC3xUPO7NX
— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) February 23, 2026
Authorities are urging people in affected areas to stay indoors and sign up for real-time alerts during the “potentially life-threatening” and “historic” storm. Over 40 “warming centres” will be made available in New York to help the homeless do so. Additional snow-clearing teams have been deployed there, and in Washington, the District Snow Patrol is at work to keep the city accessible by foot and bus.
Computer simulations show the “major nor’easter” easing off by late afternoon on Monday for most areas other than New England, where hazardous conditions could continue longer. But American Airlines warned that the disruption in the skies could last beyond the worst of the snowfall as schedules and staffing take time to recover. “Teams across the airline are working around the clock and will be ready to resume operations at the affected airports Tuesday, Feb. 24 as soon as the conditions allow airlines to safely do so,” the carrier said in a statement.
The winter storm is shutting down the New York City area 🥶 pic.twitter.com/daggEdgbGh
— Alex ❎ (@AlexChecked) February 23, 2026
Travellers should avoid all unnecessary journeys and check road safety guidance and information from their carriers and airports before setting out. Several major airlines have issued travel advisories and are facilitating ticket changes for affected flyers.
