When Helen Wang, a 6-grader at a New York public school, woke up early Monday morning, she received a brief text message from her school teacher on her cell phone: Snow day! No school today!

Vehicles park on a parking lot at LaGuardia Airport in New York, the United States, Mar. 2, 2009. A massive snowstorm ravaged the eastern United States early Monday, snapping power lines, closing schools and snarling the morning commute amid freezing temperatures.[Xinhua Photo]

About 1.1 million public school students in the city got a snow day. The last time that happened was Jan. 28, 2004.

More than 900 flights were reportedly canceled -- a majority of all flights at Kennedy, Newark and LaGuardia, three major airports in the New York metropolitan area.

The winter storm, which slammed into the city Sunday night, has reportedly dropped as much as 9 inches (about 23 cm) of snow on the New York City area and parts of the Northeast U.S. as of mid-morning on Monday, disrupting travel and slowing commutes.

An additional 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) is forecast as snow makes its way up from the South.

According to the U.S. National Weather Service, a storm warning is in effect until 6 p.m. Monday.

Aircrafts land on the apron at LaGuardia Airport in New York, Mar. 2, 2009. [Xinhua Photo]

Mayor Bloomberg said the city was prepared, but urged New Yorkers to call 311 or check nyc.gov for school closings.

"It's the first of March, which you know is the month that we say comes in like a lion and out like a lamb," he said.

The mayor said 2,000 sanitation workers would be working to clear the streets and the city has more than 100,000 tons of rock salt on hand.