The fiercest storm of the winter slammed the northeastern United States on Thursday, leaving 30cm of snow in places, forcing cancellation of thousands of flights and closing schools.

At least 4,000 flights were canlled and another 5,700 more detaile following the "thunder snow" which came a day after temperatures had been a spring-like 10 to 16C, had wind gusts up to 80kph and left roads and sidewalks dangerously slick in densely populated cities such as New York, Boston and Philadelphia.

“Thunder snow” are violent bursts of weather featuring both snow and lightning, which could drop as much as 10cm of snow per hour.

Some coastal roads around Boston were closed as wind-driven waves washed over them.

All flights at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport were halted on Thursday morning due to the storm’s intensity. More than half of the flights into or out of the three major New York-area airports as well as Boston Logan International Airport were cancelled.

Nationwide, about 3,200 flights were cancelled, according to Flightaware.com.

“This is an unusually fast, intense storm,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters. “It’s very tough conditions out there.” David Hassan, 50, attested to the ugliness of the weather as he packed up his mobile coffee cart in New York’s Times Square.

“I don’t like coming out in this weather but I have three kids going to school and I have to work,” Hassan said as he prepared for the two-hour trip back to his home in Parsippany, New Jersey.

The snow made his regular customers grumpier than usual, he said: “Everybody complains.” New York was expecting 25-36cm of snow while Boston braced for even more.

“Travel is going to be extremely dangerous. When it comes down at 2 to 3 inches per hour it’s hard for the plows to keep up,” said Alan Dunham, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Taunton, Massachusetts.

Many schools systems were closed in the area, including Boston, Philadelphia and New York City, the nation’s largest with more than 1 million students.

Many government offices also were shuttered with Massachusetts and Connecticut ordering non-emergency workers to stay home.

Blizzard warnings were in effect for the New York’s eastern Long Island suburbs, southern Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Temperatures were expected to fall below -12.8C overnight in the Boston area

source : gulfnews