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Pedestrians walk in the East Village during a snow storm in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, the US, on February 1 2021. Picture: REUTERS/CAITLIN OCHS
Pedestrians walk in the East Village during a snow storm in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, the US, on February 1 2021. Picture: REUTERS/CAITLIN OCHS

New York — A major winter storm that has already dropped more than 30cm of snow across the northeastern US and killed an elderly Pennsylvania woman, was expected to pound inland areas with potential blizzard conditions on Tuesday.

The storm cancelled flights across the region and halted subway service in New York City on Monday, dumping 68cm of snow in areas of New Jersey and Pennsylvania and 43cm in New York City.

Police in Allentown, Pennsylvania said that a 67-year-old woman suffering from Alzheimer's disease was found lying dead in the snow on Monday after wandering away from her home.

Some areas of the New England coast, which saw a mix of snow and rain on Monday, were forecast by the NWS to see up to 38cm of snow on Tuesday as the storm moved north.

Early predictions had called for the storm to bring up to 60cm of snow to New York City in recent years, the most since a record-breaking blizzard dumped 70cm on the city in 2016.

Winter storm warnings and weather advisories were in place across the Northeast. Outdoor subway service in New York City and PATH commuter trains linking Manhattan and New Jersey were suspended. The city closed public school buildings on Tuesday.

New York state governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency in the city and 44 other counties, and warned of possible road closures.

"This is a dangerous situation. A life-threatening situation," Cuomo told a news conference on Monday. "Expect closures. It's going to get very bad, very quickly."

More than 90% of flights at New York City-area airports were cancelled on Monday according to Rick Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and operations suspended at La Guardia and John F Kennedy airports in Queens.

Reuters

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