A strong winter storm slammed New York City and much of the U.S. Northeast on Friday, forcing businesses, schools and transportation systems to shut down.
Commuters struggled in the absence of suburban train and bus services into New York City, where more than a foot (30 cm) of snow has fallen over the past 24 hours, snarling morning rush hour travel.
"A lot of people are not coming to work; today is very slow," said Jake Mir, 45, from Long Island, who was 45 minutes late setting up his coffee cart in Manhattan's West Village. "The roads are very bad, too many accidents."
On Wall Street, workers pitched in electronically from home or braved the storm to get to the office but trading was light, observers said, and the storm was partly blamed for a drop in U.S. Treasury trading volume.
"Not surprising with the frightful weather outside, NYSE consolidated volume so far today is on track to be the quietest of the year," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New York.
Bond trading was also light due to the inclement weather, said William Larkin, fixed income portfolio manager at Cabot Money Management in Salem, Massachusetts. "New York is probably out of the picture," he said.
The slow-moving wintry blast, which began on Thursday and was predicted to last through Saturday with several more inches of snow forecast for New York City, was the third heavy storm to hit the region in a month.
"Enough is enough -- I am tired of shoveling," said retired Ron Rigo, 62, as he tried to dig out his car in a Manhattan street. "It's the worst winter in recent years."
More than 700,000 homes and businesses across the Northeastern United States were without power on Friday.
SCHOOLS CLOSED, FLIGHTS CANCELED
Parts of Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey, upstate New York and Massachusetts could expect snow accumulations of as much as two feet (61 cm), the National Weather Service said.
The effects of the bad winter weather could be felt throughout a U.S. economy struggling to emerge from recession.
"The issue ... has been the unusual weather this quarter, said Subodh Kumar, chief investment strategist at Subodh Kumar & Associates, in Toronto.
At the United Nations, the Palestinian Authority's permanent observer Riyad Mansour told the 192-nation General Assembly that the storm was to blame for 56 countries failing to show up for a vote on a resolution demanding credible Israeli and Palestinian investigations into U.N. allegations of war crimes during last year's conflict in the Gaza Strip.
In New York City, subway service was slowed and buses struggled to navigate snow-covered streets.
Strong winds, gusting up to 60 miles per hour (97 kph) in eastern Long Island, posed danger to those venturing outside, the National Weather Service said. In Philadelphia, winds gusted up to 50 miles per hour (80 kph) and the city declared a snow emergency, its fourth of the winter.
Among the storm's casualties, a man was struck and killed by a snow-laden tree limb that fell in Central Park on Thursday and the roof of a home in suburban New Jersey collapsed under the heavy snow.
Schools were closed in New York City, Philadelphia and elsewhere in the Northeastern states.
Hundreds of flights were canceled at Newark Liberty International Airport, while delays were reported at John F. Kennedy International Airport and flights canceled at Philadelphia's airport, authorities said.
Amtrak canceled regional trains in upstate New York, and commuter bus service was suspended in northern New Jersey.