New York City was struggling to dig out on Monday from a severe winter storm, which brought nearly all means of travel to a halt, including roads, train lines, and the city’s three airports. The blizzard warning was issued Sunday morning. By the time the storm died down 24 hours later, 20 inches had fallen in Central Park, 24 on Brooklyn, and a whopping 32 in Elizabeth, N.J. You can see it all in a time-lapse here.
Overnight, the city endured winds of 25 to 35 mph, with sporadic gusts even stronger, and near-zero visibility. Gothamist reports that snow has even accumulated inside a few subway stations! Meanwhile, the Journal says it might have been “thundersnow,” because obviously this is weather that has never happened in the course of human history and thus requires entirely new meteorological terms. Okay, we get it; we’re terrified: Anyone who has watched The Walking Dead is reaching for a crossbow after seeing this picture.
According to NBC New York, four A trains were stalled above ground by snow near Kennedy airport, resulting in some 400 people being trapped for seven hours overnight before they could be rescued this morning. Gothamist has collected some of the tweets from the debacle, and a Daily News reporter was one of those who were trapped. Cannibalism and public urination were reportedly discussed. Oh, the humanity!
Several Metro-North trains ended up trapped in northern Manhattan and the Bronx, as well as “hundreds” of buses across the city. But on the bright side, airports in Philadelphia and Boston have already reopened. JFK is scheduled to reopen on Monday at 6 p.m., but LaGuardia and Newark aren’t expected to be back in service until Tuesday.
Finally, the Times live blog reports that the fearless foot soldiers of capitalism on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor made it into work Monday morning by leaving the night before. “The exchange is open because the exchange is always open,” said Kenneth Polcari of ICAP. “The exchange doesn’t close just because it’s snowing outside.”
Air travel stalls as blizzard unleashes fury [CNN]
Yep, That’s Snow Inside the Subway Stations [Gothamist]
Winter snowstorm barrels down on New York City area [NYDN]
Live Blog [City Room/NYT]
Earlier: Blizzard in New York: Snow, Everywhere!
