NYC, NJ digging out from snow, with 'debilitating' cold for days ahead

As the New York City area shovels out from more than a foot of snow, officials are warning that the real threat now is the brutal cold that’s gripping the region, and it’s not going away anytime soon.

Roads remain perilous, and transit services are coming back online with delays and adjustments. Officials in New York and New Jersey are both urging people to stay off the roads if possible, with ice posing a continuing danger.

New York City officials on Monday were still looking into the circumstances of eight deaths possibly tied to the extreme weather, which brought wind chill temperatures well below zero. All eight people, officials said, were discovered outside and either pronounced dead where they were found or in the hospitals where they were transported.

National Weather Service meteorologist Dominic Ramunni said anyone trying to dig out their homes should be mindful of how physically strenuous it can be to lift heavy snow in the cold.

“It’s not a race,” he said. “Dress warmly, stay hydrated and take frequent breaks.”

Ramunni said no further accumulation is in the forecast.

“As we dry out, the story becomes the temperatures,” Ramunni said. “We’re talking about an extended period through the rest of this week, not only below the freezing mark but probably struggling to get out of the lower 20s most afternoons.”

Meteorologists have their eye on another snow system that could make landfall in the area next weekend, though it’s still too early to tell, he added.

New York City officials plan to reopen public schools for in-person class Tuesday, City Hall announced Monday afternoon.

“Our goal is for all services to be fully restored by tomorrow, with all streets cleared, students back at school, in person, and our city back to normal, albeit with a lot of snow piled up,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a Monday press conference.

“Our top priority remains ensuring that every New Yorker can remain safe and warm throughout this prolonged cold period,” the mayor added.

All school programs and activities are planned to resume on normal schedules.

The storm left streets and highways as slick as slalom courses. A hazardous travel advisory remains in effect. Alternate-side parking rules have been suspended for Monday and Tuesday to facilitate snow removal.

Communities north of the city received the most snowfall, with some inland reporting up to almost 1.5 feet of snow, according to the National Weather Service. Totals in the five boroughs were generally around a foot or lower. The city’s sanitation department said every street had been plowed at least once as of Sunday evening, and reminded property owners they are responsible for clearing their sidewalks.

Mamdani said about 170 homeless people had been placed in shelter, Safe Haven sites, stabilization beds, drop-in centers and hospitals over the weekend, but “just because the storm has passed does not mean that the danger to homeless New Yorkers has passed.”

“Outreach teams are only intensifying their efforts today to connect vulnerable New Yorkers to shelter,” he said. “This is an all-hands-on-deck effort and I continue to ask New Yorkers to call 311, which will route these calls to 911 as it is a Code Blue, whenever they see someone who may require assistance.”

Ice and snow snarl transit, flights

Transit services were gradually coming back online Monday.

Most NJ Transit train lines were back up and running, but would continue on weekend schedules through Tuesday. At a noon press conference, Gov. Mikie Sherrill — presiding over the first storm of her new administration — said 85 of more than 250 NJ Transit bus lines were running again. That number continued to grow through the afternoon.

PATH trains were also running again on a weekend schedule.

The MTA continued to report delays on several lines as of mid-day Monday. Metro-North Railroad and the Long Island Railroad were running Monday, but with reduced service, the MTA said. The agency advised commuters to check ahead for any disruptions.

MTA Chair Janno Lieber said the transit agency was dealing with staffing issues because of workers who were stuck in New Jersey, but subways and buses were running a full weekday schedule.

Monday will continue to be a challenge for people trying to fly in and out of New York City area airports. The flight-tracking website FlightAware reported nearly 1,400 canceled flights at JFK, Newark and LaGuardia airports. That represents more than a quarter of all canceled flights in the United States.

Sherrill said Newark Airport was ramping up operations again, with many flights being able to take off and land.

In New York City and New Jersey alike, officials warned that even roads cleared of snow could be dangerous due to icy conditions.

“ We're working incredibly hard, but just because you see blacktop doesn't mean that you don't need to exercise caution in these incredibly cold conditions,” Sherrill said.

Schools

Thousands of New York City public school students tuned into remote learning Monday, even as some parents said their kids were skipping the virtual school day and others reported trouble logging onto the schools’ instruction portal.

High school students and those in schools only serving grades six through 12 already had Monday off for teacher professional development, but younger students were expected to join their classes online.

Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said it had been a “smooth start to the day,” with most students and school staff able to log on quickly. Mamdani said about 400,000 students, parents and staff were able to access virtual schooling by 9:15 a.m.

It was so far a better outcome than two years ago, when students logging on en masse during a February storm experienced a technical meltdown. Other post-pandemic attempts to deploy remote learning also yielded less-than-ideal results.

Samuels said the system was stress-tested in December but he also acknowledged no one expected younger students to be logged on for the full school day. He said he planned to be able to welcome students back to class in person Tuesday.

Schools throughout New Jersey, where many communities were hit with more than a foot of snow, canceled school on Monday.

Extreme-cold dangers, fatalities

Mamdani referenced the outdoor deaths in his press briefing, while acknowledging the absence of details about the victims. He said several had previously received homeless services from the city. The medical examiner is investigating each of the deaths. At the time of Mamdani's briefing, seven of the eight deaths had been confirmed.

“ It is still too early to share a broader diagnosis or a cause of death,” Mamdani said. “However … we haven't seen this kind of cold for eight years, and it is debilitating.”

Christina Farrell, first deputy commissioner of the city's emergency management department, told WNYC on Sunday her team has been doing outreach across the five boroughs with an eye toward reaching homeless New Yorkers and encouraging them to come in from the old and use warming centers. Two have been set up in each borough, officials said.

Snow removal

New York City sanitation officials said they were still focusing on snow removal, so garbage collection will be delayed and will resume as soon as possible. They said residents could nonetheless put their materials out at the curb in the meantime.

Officials said they'll have hundreds of people hired to shovel snow Monday. They're also expecting to use special snow-melting equipment in their first full-scale deployment since 2021.

David Giambusso contributed reporting. This story has been updated with additional information.