New York blanketed in snowfall, sparking travel chaos

New York has woken up to its heaviest snowfall in nearly four years after a winter storm blanketed parts of the US north-east.

New York City's Central Park recorded 4.3in (11cm) of snow, its highest since January 2022, while other parts of the state saw up to 7.5in of snow, said the US National Weather Service (NWS).

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for more than half of counties in the state ahead of the storm.

On Saturday, nearly 700 domestic flights were cancelled, mostly in the New York area, while more than 3,000 were delayed nationwide, according to tracking website FlightAware.

By early Saturday, about 6-10in of snow had fallen from Syracuse in central New York to Long Island in the south-east of the state.

The highest snowfall was recorded in neighbouring New Jersey, where a state of emergency was also declared, and Connecticut, where 9.1in of snow fell in Fairfield County.

The worst of the storm was over by Saturday morning, but temperatures were below freezing and road conditions hazardous.

The state has activated a "code blue" to bring homeless people inside from the cold.

On the other side of the country, meanwhile, California is counting the cost of the worst winter storm to hit the south of the state in recent memory, burying cars in rivers of mud.