Winter Storm Blankets New York, Grounding Over 1,500 Flights During Peak Holiday Travel (Live Weather Cam)

NEW YORK — A powerful post-Christmas winter storm slammed into the New York metropolitan area on Friday, December 26, 2025, dumping nearly nine inches of snow and throwing the year’s busiest travel weekend into a state of total paralysis. As the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a Winter Storm Warning for the Tri-State area, major airlines were forced to preemptively ground more than 1,500 flights, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded at some of the nation’s busiest hubs.

Here is an EarthCam LIVE feed from NYC

The storm began intensifying Friday afternoon, with snowfall rates reaching 1 to 2 inches per hour during the height of the evening commute. By nightfall, John F. Kennedy International (JFK), LaGuardia (LGA), and Newark Liberty (EWR) airports had become the epicenter of a national aviation crisis. According to flight-tracking service FlightAware, JFK alone logged nearly 400 cancellations, while Newark and LaGuardia each reported over 230 grounded flights.

Major carriers including JetBlue, Delta, and United led the list of cancellations, citing extreme visibility issues and the need for constant de-icing operations. “This is the heaviest snowfall New York City has seen in years,” noted Richard Bann, a forecaster with the U.S. Weather Prediction Center. “The combination of freezing temperatures and high moisture content has made for a very difficult operational environment.”

On the ground, the situation was equally dire. New York City Mayor Eric Adams activated the city’s Winter Weather Emergency Plan, urging residents to stay off the roads as sanitation crews struggled to keep pace with the accumulation. “As New Yorkers continue to celebrate the holidays, they must also prepare for hazardous conditions,” Mayor Adams said in a Friday press briefing. “Avoid driving if possible and give yourself extra time on public transit.”

The Department of Sanitation (DSNY) deployed hundreds of salt spreaders and plows ahead of the storm, but officials warned that sub-freezing temperatures would likely cause ice to form on untreated surfaces, making the Saturday morning cleanup particularly challenging. Beyond the five boroughs, the storm’s reach extended into the Hudson Valley, Long Island, and parts of Connecticut and New Jersey, with some areas reporting up to 10 inches of snow.

International travel was also hit hard. Carriers like Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific announced multiple cancellations for routes connecting New York to major global hubs in Europe and Asia. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned that ground stops and delays are expected to persist through at least Saturday morning as airports work to clear runways and manage the backlog of diverted aircraft.

While the snow is expected to taper off by Saturday afternoon, a secondary cold front is predicted to sweep through the region on Sunday, potentially bringing freezing rain and blustery winds. For now, the “city that never sleeps” is hunkering down, waiting for the whiteout to pass.

Sources

• Forbes: Hundreds Of NYC Area Flights Canceled Friday As Snowstorm Looms
• Travel and Tour World: New York Snowstorm Chaos Grounds Nearly 1,000 Flights
• amNewYork: NYC agencies gear up for winter storm expected to bring up to 8 inches of snow
• Gulf News: Snowstorm triggers 400 flight cancellations across New York
• CBS News: Maps show winter storm forecast for ice and snow from Great Lakes to Northeast