Winter storm slows post-Christmas travel in the Northeast
- - Winter storm slows post-Christmas travel in the Northeast
Meteorologist Chris Dolce, Andrew Freedman, CNNDecember 27, 2025 at 1:24 AM
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People walk through snow in Manhattan on Friday. - Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A winter storm was dumping heavy snow and treacherous ice on parts of the Great Lakes and Northeast Friday evening after snarling travel and knocking out power in parts of the region.
Hundreds of flights were delayed or canceled at New York’s three major airports along with Philadelphia International Airport, with the hubs topping the list of national cancelations, according to FlightAware.
And more than 35,000 homes and businesses lost power in Michigan as ice weighed on trees and power lines, according to poweroutage.us.
More than 23 million people were under winter storm warnings through Saturday — including New York City, which could see its biggest snowfall since 2022. Areas across New York state were seeing accumulating snow Friday.
The warnings are in effect for an area from New York City northeast into Connecticut, east to Long Island, and southwest into northern New Jersey. Interior portions of New York, including the Hudson Valley, Albany and Binghamton, are also in the warning area.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency on Friday afternoon for counties bracing for impact from the powerful winter storm.
A state of emergency went into effect in New Jersey at 1 p.m. Friday, acting Gov. Tahesha Way announced, urging people to avoid travel during the storm. The state announced travel restrictions for some commercial vehicles, such as semitrailers, on interstates starting Friday afternoon. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont also advised motorists not to travel Friday evening.
A winter weather advisory was in effect for Philadelphia, where the fast-moving storm was expected to bring a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain Friday.
Snow totals in the Tri-State area were forecast to be between 5 to 9 inches, with heavy snow possible at times Friday evening, according to the National Weather Service.
A narrow zone of 8 to 12 inches of snow is predicted to fall from Long Island, New York, into Connecticut and parts of New York State north of New York City, according to the weather service.
New York City workers have been gearing up for days, with additional staff on standby to respond to the storm. Preparations were in full swing Friday, including salting the streets, readying plows and early closure of the ferry ahead of heavy snowfall .
Exact totals are still uncertain since it will depend on where any heavier bands of snow develop in relation to the Big Apple, but some spots north and west of the city could pick up more than 8 inches of snow. Also, if sleet mixes in with the snow in New York City it could lessen accumulations there.
The last time New York City saw a snowstorm of at least 4 inches was January 7, 2022. That snow-starved streak could end by Saturday as the storm moves out of the region during the morning.
Philadelphia is expected to see a heavy mix of snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain, with the potential for 1 to 3 inches of snow and sleet accumulation. How much snow versus sleet, freezing rain and rain the metro area will see depends on exactly where cold air meets the storm’s moisture.
An ice storm warning for ice accumulations of 0.2 to 0.3 inches, which is enough to cause damage to trees and power lines, is in effect in western Pennsylvania, just east of Pittsburgh and west of Altoona, through Saturday morning. The icy mix of precipitation, including snow in northeastern Pennsylvania, broke out across the state as of midday Friday. “Power outages and tree damage are likely due to the ice. Travel could be nearly impossible,” the NWS stated.
Farther south, Washington, DC, is seeing mainly rain from this storm system, although some sleet and freezing rain is falling in northern areas of Maryland.
CNN’s Taylor Romine contributed to this report.
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