Flights cancelled as state of emergency is declared in New York due to winter storm Stella

Flights have been cancelled from London to the US after a powerful snow storm lashed the north-east of the country.

A state of emergency was declared in New York and three other US states as the monster storm slammed the region with up to two feet of snow.

Winter Storm Stella was expected to affect more than 50 million people across the US, causing widespread power outages, traffic chaos and flight cancellations.

The storm, described as “life-threatening” by weather forecasters, brought blizzard conditions and 50 mile-per-hour winds.

By 9am on Tuesday morning, 69 flights between London and New York, Washington, Boston and Philadelphia had been cancelled, according to the airline-tracking website FlightAware.

An airline passenger checks the departure board at Miami International Airport
AP

British Airways cancelled all its flights to and from New York and Philadelphia.

The airline said no flights would operate from London’s Heathrow to Boston, and just a single early morning flight would depart from Boston to Heathrow.

Empty shelves at a shop in New York (Reuters)
Shannon Stapleton/ Reuters

Some flights were still scheduled to and from the UK and Washington.

Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines, Air Canada and United Airlines also cancelled many flights from the UK to the US.

This satellite image shows clouds around the north-east of the United States (AP)
NOAA via AP

Blizzard warnings were issued for parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

The storm was expected to dump up to two feet of snow in the New York City metro area.

Mayor de Blasio warned Big Apple residents: “Stay off streets for your own safety. Stay in if you can. We’re going to be hit with a tremendous challenge in the coming hours.”

Weather emergency: Wintry scenes in New York

All New York schools were closed and above ground sections of the subway ground to a halt. More than 6,500 flights in the area were cancelled.

Forecasters were predicting two to three feet of flooding in some coastal areas at high tide. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and other museums were also closed.

States of emergency were also declared from midnight in New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland.

In Connecticut, residents were subject to a statewide travel ban.

A New York City Department of Sanitation plough moves sand around in the west side depot as the city prepares for blizzard conditions (AFP/Getty Images)
Timothy A.Clary/AFP/Getty Images

The harsh late winter weather had already claimed lives in Milwaukee after two elderly men on different sides of the city collapsed while shovelling snow yesterday.

President Trump tweeted urging “everyone be safe” as he met with local authorities in Washington to discuss preparations in the capital, which is also being battered by a blizzard, alongside mid-Atlantic and North-east cities including Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

The storm led German Chancellor Angela Merkel to postpone her trip to Washington for her first face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump until Friday.

New Yorkers stocked up on groceries, salt and emergency supplies as many planned to sit out the storm at home.

The blizzard consisted of two larger storm systems which have merged into one, according to the US National Weather Service.

It comes at the end of an unusually mild winter along much of America’s East Coast, with below normal snowfalls in some areas, including New York and Washington.

U.S Storm Blizzard - In pictures

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