State of emergency declared in New York as a huge winter storm sweeps in

The north-eastern US states of New York and New Jersey have declared states of emergency as a huge winter storm sweeps in, threatening blizzard conditions.

The US National Weather Service has issued blizzard warnings for parts of Maine, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, reports BBC.

Schools are closed and thousands of flights have been cancelled.

The conditions caused German Chancellor Angela Merkel to postpone a trip to Washington to meet President Trump.

With winds of up to 60mph (100km/h), Winter Storm Stella is likely to cause severe disruption for commuters across many parts of the north-east on Wednesday morning, forecasters say.

In all, about 31 million people across America are now under a blizzard warning.