NEW YORK, Feb 23, (AP): Millions of people in New York City and a large swath of the northeastern US were stuck at home under road travel bans and blizzard warnings Monday as a fierce winter storm barreled into the densely populated region with heavy snowfall and high winds. Cellphones across New York City received wailing push alerts Sunday night announcing a ban on non-emergency travel on all streets through noon Monday because of "dangerous blizzard conditions.”

Rhode Island and New Jersey implemented similar restrictions. Regional airports saw widespread cancellations and delays, and public transit was suspended in some areas. Even DoorDash announced it was suspending deliveries in New York City overnight. Blizzard warnings stretched from Maryland to Maine. Snow began falling Sunday as the storm moved north, and the National Weather Service said 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters) of snow was possible in many areas, along with low visibility.

Officials in several states urged people to avoid venturing out. Emergencies were declared in New York, Philadelphia and other cities, as well as several states stretching from Delaware to Massachusetts as officials mobilized readiness efforts. "We expect things to dramatically change here” heading into the overnight, weather service meteorologist Frank Pereira said Sunday.

"The storm is continuing to develop, and as it does, as it continues to strengthen and move to the north, we’re expecting conditions to rapidly deteriorate.” Pereira added that the storm could possibly become a bomb cyclone, which is when a storm drops at least 24 millibars in pressure in 24 hours. "We’re expecting it to drop by that magnitude at least over the course of the next 24 hours,” he said.

"I think when all is said and done, it will meet the definition of a bomb cyclone.” The weather service said some of the heaviest snow was expected to fall overnight, with as much as 2 inches (5 centimeters) of snow per hour accumulating at times in some areas, before tapering off by Monday afternoon. New York City and Boston canceled public school classes for Monday, while Philadelphia will switch to online learning. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani called it the "first old-school snow day since 2019.”