Snowfall in New York sparks travel chaos

Kwasi Gyamfi Aduadu AduduaNew York City

grey placeholderAFP via Getty Images A person wearing a red Christmas-themed jumper looks at the snow in Central Park in New York City on December 27, 2025.AFP via Getty Images

About 4.3 inches of snow was recorded in Central Park.

New York received its heaviest snowfall in nearly four years after winter storms blanketed the northeastern United States.

New York City’s Central Park recorded 11 centimeters (4.3 inches) of snow, the highest since January 2022, while other parts of the state reported up to 7.5 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency in more than half of the state’s counties ahead of the storm.

Nearly 700 domestic flights were canceled Saturday, mostly in the New York area, and more than 3,000 were delayed nationwide, according to tracking website FlightAware.

grey placeholderBloomberg via Getty Images Travelers sit and huddle next to large suitcases lined up inside a modern airport terminal.Bloomberg via Getty Images

Passengers were stranded at Queens LaGuardia Airport in New York City.

By early Saturday morning, about 6 to 10 inches of snow had fallen from Syracuse in central New York to Long Island in the state’s southeast.

The areas with the most snow were Connecticut, with 9.1 inches of snow falling in neighboring New Jersey and Fairfield County, where a state of emergency was declared.

grey placeholderAFP via Getty Images People walking on snow in Central Park in New York CityAFP via Getty Images

People walking in the snow in Central Park in New York City

The worst of the storm was over by Saturday morning, but temperatures were below freezing and road conditions were hazardous.

The state has activated a ‘Code Blue’ to bring homeless people home from the cold.

Meanwhile, on the other side of California, people are counting the cost, remembering cars recently buried in rivers of mud after the worst winter storm to hit the southern part of the state.

WATCH: Powerful storms hit Southern California