Winter storm hits NYC 6 hours after Super Bowl

Mother Nature held her breath during the Super Bowl, but will be unleashing lots of snow over the next week.

Snowflakes started falling in the New York City area at 4 a.m. Monday, just hours after the Super Bowl was played across the Hudson River in East Rutherford, N.J.

The Big Apple should brace for 5 to 8 inches of snow, said the National Weather Service, which issued a winter storm warning for the city and Long Island. The storm was already wreaking havoc on travel, with more than 1,950 flights being canceled nationally, according to the website FlightAware.

Mayor Bill de Blasio in a press conference Monday afternoon warned that the day's wintry mix is only the beginning of what's expected to be an extremely white week.

"The fact is that we are facing not one, not two, but three storms potentially this week," he said while stressing Monday's snowfall as being the worst. A second storm is expected on Tuesday night and a third over the weekend, he added.

As far as the roads go, "Thing are going to be messy today," he said. "Snow is coming down faster than we can plow it. We have a very aggressive plowing operation going on but snow is coming down very rapidly."

He urged New Yorkers to stay off the roads and use mass transit, especially after rush hour tonight which will allow the city's sanitation more room to clear the streets.

"I don't ever expect my fellow New Yorkers to be patient. I don't think that's part of our nature or our character. But I do think people should recognize there is a progression," he said of the sanitation department's chosen routes, which won't immediately accommodate every resident.

Alternate side of the street parking in New York City has been suspended, an official with the city’s Sanitation Department said Monday.