State of emergency declared in New York as US storm disrupts thousands of flights

A powerful winter storm has forced New York and New Jersey into states of emergency, disrupting thousands of flights during one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. As of Sunday, December 28, 2025, at least 1,500 flights have been cancelled or delayed across the northeast US according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. New York City received around 4 inches of snow on Saturday, while areas like Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in California have seen over 5 feet of snow since Tuesday. Major airports including John F Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, and LaGuardia issued snow warnings. The storm has also caused travel delays in San Francisco and Orlando, with hundreds of delayed flights reported in Florida. Two ski patrollers were injured in an avalanche at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, and a backcountry skier was rescued after being buried in an avalanche near Mount Rose ski resort outside Reno.