A powerful winter storm disrupted travel across New York City on Monday (February 23), leaving airports, streets and transit hubs unusually quiet.

At LaGuardia Airport in Queens, departure boards showed rows of canceled flights as travel ground to a halt. Inside the terminal, two travelers slept in chairs at an otherwise deserted baggage claim, and the normally busy passenger pickup area was empty.

Across the city, snow piled up on parked cars as residents worked to clear sidewalks with snow blowers and shovels. A yellow taxi passed through snow-covered streets in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights, where pedestrians struggled to move through deep drifts.

On the elevated 1 train line, snow blanketed platforms and Broadway stood largely empty. Despite the storm, trains continued to run, pulling in and out of stations before disappearing into the storm and underground.

In Times Square, heavy snowfall muted the city’s busiest crossroads, with only a handful of people moving through the snow-filled streets.

New York City, the nation's largest school district, ordered all public school buildings closed for a traditional snow day, with no remote instruction and all after-school programs canceled.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she had activated 100 National Guard members to assist in Long Island, New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley - areas expected to bear the brunt of the heavy snow and coastal winds. The storm also forced closure of the U.N. headquarters complex in Manhattan on Monday.

Parts of the Northeast could see up to two feet of snow and wind gusts could reach 70 mph, raising the risk of falling trees and power outages, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 23, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. DEPARTURE BOARD SHOWING MULTIPLE CANCELED FLIGHTS AT LAGUARDIA AIRPORT IN NEW YORK CITY'S QUEENS BOROUGH

2. TWO TRAVELERS SLEEPING AT EMPTY BAGGAGE CLAIM AREA

3. NEARLY EMPTY TERMINAL

4. EMPTY BAGGAGE CAROUSELS

5. EMPTY PASSENGER PICKUP AREA AT LAGUARDIA AIRPORT

6. VARIOUS OF SNOW PILED ON TOP OF CARS / PEOPLE CLEARING SNOW WITH SNOW BLOWER AND SHOVEL / YELLOW TAXI DRIVING BY / PEOPLE TRYING TO WALK THROUGH SNOW IN THE MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD OF NEW YORK CITY'S MANHATTAN BOROUGH

7. VARIOUS OF ELEVATED 1 TRAIN SUBWAY STATION / EMPTY BROADWAY, ESCALATORS / SIGN READING (English): "Weather Advisory - Board and exit in the middle of the platform near the conductor's position during the storm." / SNOW COVERED TRAIN PLATFORM / UPTOWN 1 TRAIN PULLING AWAY FROM THE STATION / DOWNTOWN 1 TRAIN PULLING INTO STATION AT 125TH STREET

8. VARIOUS OF VIEW FROM DOWNTOWN 1 TRAIN AS IT HEADS UNDERGROUND

9. VARIOUS OF NEARLY EMPTY SNOW-FILLED TIMES SQUARE IN NEW YORK CITY'S MANHATTAN BOROUGH