North-eastern United States faces travel chaos and heavy snow due to winter storm

One of the most severe snow storms to hit the north-eastern US coast in two years has caused widespread disruption, covering cities with over a foot of snow. Schools in New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts suspended in-person classes and switched to online learning. Over 1,200 US flights, mainly in New York and Boston, were canceled, and another 1,700 faced delays. While there have been no reports of serious injuries or deaths from the storm, nearly 50 million people were placed under winter weather alerts as snow fell rapidly from eastern Pennsylvania to Massachusetts. Farmington, Connecticut experienced record snowfall of 15.5 inches (39 cm). The blizzard led to power outages for 150,000 Pennsylvania residents and made travel treacherous, resulting in minor car accidents in Boston and New York City. Some regions implemented a ban on commercial vehicles, and residents were advised to avoid unnecessary travel. In New York City, students had to switch to remote learning, which was plagued by technical issues that prevented hundreds of thousands of students from logging in. The decision to switch to online classes was defended by Mayor Eric Adams, who expressed concern that students had already fallen behind due to the pandemic. David Banks, the city's public schools chancellor, blamed IBM for the log-in software problems. IBM stated that most of the issues had been resolved and expressed regret for the inconvenience caused. This snowstorm ended a 744-day snow drought for New York City that had not seen more than 2.5 inches of snow in over two years. The storm also prompted some residents to enjoy the wintry weather and visit the city's parks. However, the overall trend has shown a decline in winter snowfall in recent years. The storm is expected to move from New York towards Boston and later impact Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Nova Scotia in Canada will also face strong winds and heavy snowfall.