Blizzard shuts down New York City, much of US Northeast

A life-threatening blizzard barreled into the US Northeast, affecting up to 20 percent of Americans by making workers and students housebound, halting thousands of flights and prompting New York to ban cars from roads and halt subway trains. (Source: AP)

Fishing boats ride out the storm at dock.

A storm packing blizzard conditions spun up the East Coast early Tuesday (January 27), pounding parts of coastal New Jersey northward through Maine with high winds and heavy snow. (Source: AP)

Police and fire personnel prepare to deploy to flooded areas on the coast. (Source: AP)

"Please stay home," New Jersey Governor Chris Christie told residents, ordering all but the most essential government workers in his state home from Monday (January 26) afternoon until Wednesday (January 28) at the earliest. (Source: AP)

With a bus in the background, steam pours from a manhole cover on January 26 in Boston. New England is bracing for a blizzard threatening more than 2 feet of snow, hurricane-force winds, and coastal flooding. (Source: AP)

Firefighters stand in wind-driven snow on the coast in Scituate, Massachusetts. (Source: AP)

A passer-by uses an umbrella while walking along a snow-covered path in the Boston Common. (Source: AP)