Over 16,000 flights hit as winter storm pummels US

More than 40m Americans under adverse weather warnings; states announce weather emergency as New York braces for deep snow.

- 

A mix of snow and ice bore down on the US Northeast early on Saturday, disrupting post-holiday weekend airline traffic and prompting officials in New York and New Jersey to issue weather emergency declarations even as the storm ebbed by mid-morning.

Thousands of flights were cancelled or delayed across the Northeast and Great Lakes regions due to snow as thousands took to US roads and airports during the busy travel period between Christmas and New Year's.

More than 40 million Americans were under winter storm warnings or weather advisories one day after Christmas, plus another 30 million under flood or storm advisories in California, where a so-called atmospheric river has brought a deluge of rain.

New York, the country’s largest city, was bracing for up to IO inches (25 centimetres) of snow overnight — the most in four years.

Temperatures were forecast to drop and remain chilly into the weekend, when an Arctic blast swoops down from Canada.

More than 14,400 domestic US flights on Saturday were cancelled or delayed as of mid-morning, with the majority in the New York area, including at John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport, according to the tracking site FlightAware.