Bomb cyclone causes chaos on the East Coast, bringing heavy snowfall to NYC

Heavy snowfall has caused widespread disruption on Friday morning, with Washington DC and Philadelphia also affected by the conditions

Major US cities across the northwest have been hit by a ‘bomb cyclone’ snowstorm that is already causing chaos in New York City.

Upwards of six inches of snow has reportedly hit the Big Apple according to Accuweather.com , with plenty of commuters having to contend with delays and disruptions on Friday morning.

The outlet adds that some spots will be blasted with a powerful burst of 1-2 inches of snow per hour as the storm makes its way northward.

Jonathan Porter, AccuWeather’s Chief Meteorologist, suggested people living in any locations under a particularly intense snow band could endure a “nightmare” commute.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy was quick to respond, declaring a state of emergency on Thursday ahead of the storm’s arrival. Thus far, more than 2,100 flights have been cancelled as a direct result of the incoming storm – with hundreds cancelled in the northeast alone.

Similarly, Pennsylvania officials advised residents to “stay safe” and to avoid driving on untreated roads, after snowfall rolled into the city on Thursday evening.

“The farther north you go, the bigger the snow accumulations,” AccuWeather’s Chief Video Meteorologist Bernie Rayno told Reuters (via The New York Post).

As the storm strengthens off the New England coast, it could evolve into a “bomb cyclone” – characterised as an intense weather event marked by a quick drop in barometric pressure that brings heavy precipitation and gusty winds.

Snowfall from the storm blanketed Tennessee and North Carolina earlier this week, but that weather front has been moving in a north-westerly direction ever since. Amid the ongoing 6 January recriminations, Washington DC could also be hit with up to 3 inches of snow on Friday.

The range of snowfall across the East Coast varied greatly on Thursday evening, with only a couple of inches dropping over Maryland, while parts of New York are already reporting as much as 18 inches.

New York’s Central Park under a blanket of snow. It looks set to be unseasonably warm in most of the US over the festive period (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

However, these totals are only expected to increase as we move into the busy Friday morning commuter hours.