New York hit by heavy snow, wind gusts from winter storm Kenan - China.org.cn

Winter storm Kenan is bringing heavy snow and wind gusts to New York City and surrounding areas on Saturday.

New York City is expected to receive 8 to 12 inches of total snowfall from Friday evening to early Sunday, according to a forecast issued by the National Weather Service on early Saturday.

Suffolk and Nassau counties are being hit hardest with 7 to 11 inches of snowfall as of 9:30 a.m. and another 5 to 12 inches expected, said New York Governor Kathy Hochul at a press briefing near noon on Saturday.

New York City recorded 4 inches of snowfall so far with another 4-7 inches expected before 3 p.m. Saturday, said Hochul.

Earlier, Hochul declared a state of emergency effective on Friday evening due to heavy snowfall expected downstate.

Snowfall at John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and the Central Park all exceeded 5 inches in the last 12 hours, said a tweet from the National Weather Service at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

As much as 460 flights from John F. Kennedy International Airport were canceled accounting for 80 percent of the total, according to travel information platform flightaware.com.

Meanwhile, 90 percent of flights from Newark Liberty International Airport and 97 percent of flights from LaGuardia Airport were canceled, translating into 322 and 279 flights, respectively.

The flights to the three airports were also canceled in a similar fashion.

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