A powerful winter storm, which meteorologists call a “bomb cyclone,” pummeled and paralyzed the northeastern U.S., leaving over 40 million people under a blizzard warning by Monday morning. More than 260,000 customers in the Mid-Atlantic region are without power, mostly in New Jersey and Delaware. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared a state of emergency on Sunday and ordered a citywide travel ban between 9 p.m. on Sunday and noon on Monday. Many school districts, including in New York City and Boston, declared a snow day — with no remote learning — on Monday. Thousands of flights have been canceled nationwide, with New York-area airports experiencing the most disruptions.

Scientific experts have long warned the worsening climate crisis is leading to more intense winter storms. University of Pennsylvania researcher Annabelle Horton said data shows “that these really intense, really destructive nor’easters will, in fact, only get more destructive and more powerful in a changing climate.”