Article content

The Philadelphia-to-Boston corridor of more than 35 million people began shutting down and bundling up Monday against a potentially “life-threatening” storm that could unload a paralyzing 30 to 90 centimetres of snow.

More than 5,000 flights in and out of the Northeast were cancelled, and many of them may not take off again until Wednesday. Schools and businesses let out early. And cities mobilized snowplows and salt spreaders to deal with a dangerously windy blast that could instantly make up for what has been a largely snow-free winter in the urban Northeast.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Highways, streets and transit systems shut down as ‘life-threatening’ blizzard bears down on eastern U.S. Back to video

Snow was already falling during the morning commute in several cities, including Philadelphia and New York, with Boston up next in the afternoon. Forecasters said the brunt of the storm would hit Monday evening and into Tuesday.

The Greater Toronto area is supposed to expect up to 15 centimteres of snow. Environment Canada issued snowfall warnings to the city of Hamilton and the Halton and Peel region.