New York City bans most travel as blizzard hits, with thousands of flights cancelled across US

New York City has banned non-essential travel as a major storm brings heavy snow to large parts of the eastern US.

The travel ban began at 21:00 local time on Sunday (02:00 GMT Monday) and runs until to 12:00 local time (17:00 GMT) on Monday.

It's the first time in nine years that New York City has been under a blizzard warning.

Blizzards are winter storms where heavy snowfall or blowing snow combines with winds over 35mph (56km/h) to create visibility of less than a quarter of a mile (402m) for three hours or more, according to the National Weather Service.

More than 5,000 flights within, into or out of the US have already been cancelled for Monday.

Winter storm warnings stretch from North Carolina to northern Maine, with warnings also in place in parts of eastern Canada.

Across the US, more than 200,000 homes and businesses are without power.

It's not just flights in the US that are affected by the storm - lots of flights in the UK heading across the Atlantic have been cancelled or delayed.

A number of departures from Heathrow to cities including Boston, New York and Philadelphia are cancelled through Monday morning and afternoon.

Flights from Manchester and Edinburgh to New York airports were also showing as cancelled on Monday morning.

Some flights between the US and Dublin Airport have also been cancelled today due to "adverse weather", the airport says, advising people to check with their airline for the latest updates.

In the US, blizzards are most common in the Great Plains and Midwest, especially in an area known as "Blizzard Alley", which includes parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, southeastern Wyoming, and eastern Colorado.

That's because these areas are relatively flat with few trees or obstructions to curb wind and blowing snow.

The last time New York City faced a blizzard warning was nearly a decade ago in March 2017. In Philadelphia, the last one was issued in January 2016. The last time the entire state of New Jersey was under a blizzard warning was in 1996.

Sunday's storm comes on the heels of another major snowstorm, which struck the region in January and blanketed New York City with almost a foot of snow. That storm, however, did not have the associated winds to be considered a blizzard.

Schools in New York City will be closed on Monday, with no remote learning for pupils, as the city faces its first blizzard warning in nearly a decade.

New York City's public schools authorities say that 13 school buildings will be open to be used as "warming centres".

Many schools in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut and New Jersey are also closed on Monday, although state-wide closures are not in place.

Meanwhile in Washington DC, mayor Muriel Bowser says public schools will open "with a two-hour delay".