A Scots ex-pat has described being caught up in the snowstorm which has brought chaos to north-east America.
Kay Frepp, who is originally from Shetland, lives in Battery Park, Manhattan, with husband, Andy.
Images taken from their apartment building, just a stone’s throw from the Freedom Tower, show the streets devoid of cars and covered in snow.
But last night Mrs Frepp insisted the whiteout was nothing compared to the conditions islanders back home were used to.
The couple moved to the Big Apple from Edinburgh in July last year after Mr Frepp, 51, was transferred there by his employers, the finance firm Moody’s.
On Monday evening, predictions for New York City were so severe that the city’s subway system was called off for 10 hours.
Mrs Frepp, 48, said businesses were closed and people had been panic-buying – but the disruption was nothing compared to what her parents in the Northern Isles had faced. They have been without a phone since stormy weather earlier this month.
She said: “Manhattan seems to have missed the worst of it. I was thinking my mum and dad on Shetland have had worst weather than this.
“I believe Long Island and Queens are the city areas that have been hit the hardest. They predicted snowfall of around 18-plus inches but this morning Central Park has had about six and a half inches.
“The blizzard warning has now ended. It was a bit worrying yesterday as all traffic had to be off the roads by 11pm and all public transport shut down at this time.
“A lot of businesses were shut but a lot of offices were open. People were panic food-buying, there was queues outside Andy’s office, people queuing there and up in mid-town around Union Square and further up at different supermarkets. I think it was a bit of panic.”
Mr Frepp added: “Manhattan was pretty much a ghost town this morning. There are only four people at work here when there are usually 400.”
The couple have two children, Jonathan and Rebecca Frepp, both of whom live in Aberdeen.