Deadly snowstorm forces closure of New York’s LaGuardia Airport

A historic snowstorm sweeping across the U.S. has turned deadly, with five deaths reported in New York City over the weekend, News.Az reports, citing Metro.

LaGuardia Airport, which handles more than 400 flights a day, was forced to shut down after being buried under heavy snowfall.

The closure was reported by Fox Weather in the US.

The devastating weather has forced the cancellation of some 10,000 flights, and another 2,000 tomorrow, leaving passengers stranded at airports across the US.

The flight cancellations are considered to be one of the biggest in US history.

Around 185,000,000 people are under winter weather alerts with some parts of the country under as much as 12 inches of snow.

A total of 23 states are under a state of emergency, power lines have been knocked out by ice, and supermarket shelves have been stripped bare.

The five deaths in New York were confirmed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, though he did not confirm if the deaths were weather-related.

He said: ‘While we do not yet know their causes of death, there is no more powerful reminder of the danger of extreme cold and how vulnerable many of our neighbours are, especially homeless New Yorkers.’

ABC News reported wind speeds around New York’s JFK Airport were reaching 32mph, impacting visibility for drivers.

And if snow and ice wasn’t bad enough to endure, parts of Florida, Georgia and Alabama are under tornado watch.

News.Az