NY Times
Thousands of people were without power and dozens of school districts — including all New York City public schools — were shut down on Friday morning as a lumbering late-February blizzard roosted over New York and lashed the region with driving snow.
The slow-moving storm — the third major snowstorm of the winter — was expected to dump as much as 20 inches of snow in New York City by Saturday morning, with forecasts of 30 inches of snow for the city’s northern suburbs in Orange County. The storm left wind-whipped snowdrifts of a foot or more throughout the city, and transformed Broadway into a cross-country ski track.
More than 1,000 flights in and out of New York area airports were grounded, and the city’s more than 1 million students got another snow day. Snow-loaded trees fell onto cars, roads and power lines, blocking traffic and cutting off electricity throughout the region. One man was killed Thursday afternoon when a snow-laden tree limb fell on him.
New Jersey Transit trains and buses were reporting delays throughout the state, and several towns had reports of fallen trees that in some places that were impeding traffic.
By Friday morning, the snow was still piling up across much of southern New York and New Jersey, and forecasters warned of blizzard-like conditions through Saturday morning.
“It hasn’t been advancing to the Northeast at all,” said Matt Scalora, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Upton, N.Y. “It’s pretty stationary.”
As a low pressure system off the coast turned slowly northward and circulated over much of the region, the rain changed into snow, and winds kicked up to 35 miles an hour in the Philadelphia region. Philadelphia has already surpassed its snow record for the winter with the back-to-back storms earlier this month. The new storm was expected to add 7 to 12 inches to the 73-inch tally this season.
“It’s nice to see when it first starts, but just like everybody else, we’re tired of it,” said Capt. Kenneth Coalson of the Chester Township police in the Philadelphia suburbs.
On Thursday afternoon, Pennsylvania officials had reduced the maximum speed on I-476, the Northeast Extension, to 45 m.p.h. because of deteriorating conditions. And at 6 p.m., the state imposed a general ban on that entire roadway for tractor-trailers because of expected whiteout conditions. In the New York area, the accumulation varied greatly from west to east. Heavy, wet snow fell all day in Manhattan, with more than six inches accumulating in Central Park. One man, Elmaz Qyra of Brooklyn, was killed in the park when a snow-laden tree limb fell on him just before 3:30 p.m., the authorities said.
By the end of the storm, forecasters say Central Park could receive as much as 12 inches of snow.
Beyond the city, in Orange County, N.Y., the National Weather Service said as much as 20 inches of snow could fall by Saturday. In West Milford, N.J., one foot had already fallen by 5 p.m., and the area, forecasters said, could receive another eight inches.
In New York, where emergency crews were scrambling to repair downed power lines throughout the day, about 5,400 customers were without power as of 9 p.m., a spokesman for the New York State Electric and Gas Corp. said. About 1,300 of those customers were in Orange County alone.
Meanwhile, parts of Long Island, with warm air coming off the Atlantic keeping the precipitation mainly in the form of rain, received no more than two inches of snow by 5 p.m. Totals on the South Fork might not reach two inches for the entire storm.
While delays and cancellations were light at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport felt the brunt of the weather, reporting nearly 600 cancellations. Heavy rain at Logan International Airport in Boston were causing 85 minute delays.
“This is an incredibly slow moving storm,” said Brandon Smith, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Upton, N.Y. “It’s literally going to sit over us for the next two days.”
Recent warmer weather and rain had meant that Philadelphians had finally seen the last of the old snow that fell in February. At least they know what to expect.
Captain Coalson of the Chester Township Police said his officers would be out handling accident reports on Interstate 95, and issuing citations for certain recalcitrant snow shovelers. Local laws prohibit the common practice of pushing or dumping shoveled snow in the street for passing plows to deal with; fines for violations can range from $25 to $600. “We don’t enforce it until two, three days down the road,” Captain Coalson said.
Some residents try to reserve for themselves the curbside parking spots outside their homes that they have laboriously cleared of snow by leaving folding chairs in the spots when the car is not there. “We will collect the chairs and throw them out,” Captain Coalson warned.
Staying put might be the answer, since travel seemed to be deteriorating in the Northeast, making travel difficult.
Complicating matters for Amtrak service along the busy Northeast Corridor was a fatal accident believed to be unrelated to weather. A high-speed Acela train from Boston bound for Washington struck two pedestrians on the tracks nine miles south of Philadelphia at 10:28 a.m. Thursday, said Tracy Connell, an Amtrak spokeswoman. Ms. Connell said both people died, but that she did not have any more information.
Four mainline tracks were closed while the accident was investigated, and service was not fully restored until 1 p.m.
The slow-moving storm — the third major snowstorm of the winter — was expected to dump as much as 20 inches of snow in New York City by Saturday morning, with forecasts of 30 inches of snow for the city’s northern suburbs in Orange County. The storm left wind-whipped snowdrifts of a foot or more throughout the city, and transformed Broadway into a cross-country ski track.
More than 1,000 flights in and out of New York area airports were grounded, and the city’s more than 1 million students got another snow day. Snow-loaded trees fell onto cars, roads and power lines, blocking traffic and cutting off electricity throughout the region. One man was killed Thursday afternoon when a snow-laden tree limb fell on him.
New Jersey Transit trains and buses were reporting delays throughout the state, and several towns had reports of fallen trees that in some places that were impeding traffic.
By Friday morning, the snow was still piling up across much of southern New York and New Jersey, and forecasters warned of blizzard-like conditions through Saturday morning.
“It hasn’t been advancing to the Northeast at all,” said Matt Scalora, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Upton, N.Y. “It’s pretty stationary.”
As a low pressure system off the coast turned slowly northward and circulated over much of the region, the rain changed into snow, and winds kicked up to 35 miles an hour in the Philadelphia region. Philadelphia has already surpassed its snow record for the winter with the back-to-back storms earlier this month. The new storm was expected to add 7 to 12 inches to the 73-inch tally this season.
“It’s nice to see when it first starts, but just like everybody else, we’re tired of it,” said Capt. Kenneth Coalson of the Chester Township police in the Philadelphia suburbs.
On Thursday afternoon, Pennsylvania officials had reduced the maximum speed on I-476, the Northeast Extension, to 45 m.p.h. because of deteriorating conditions. And at 6 p.m., the state imposed a general ban on that entire roadway for tractor-trailers because of expected whiteout conditions. In the New York area, the accumulation varied greatly from west to east. Heavy, wet snow fell all day in Manhattan, with more than six inches accumulating in Central Park. One man, Elmaz Qyra of Brooklyn, was killed in the park when a snow-laden tree limb fell on him just before 3:30 p.m., the authorities said.
By the end of the storm, forecasters say Central Park could receive as much as 12 inches of snow.
Beyond the city, in Orange County, N.Y., the National Weather Service said as much as 20 inches of snow could fall by Saturday. In West Milford, N.J., one foot had already fallen by 5 p.m., and the area, forecasters said, could receive another eight inches.
In New York, where emergency crews were scrambling to repair downed power lines throughout the day, about 5,400 customers were without power as of 9 p.m., a spokesman for the New York State Electric and Gas Corp. said. About 1,300 of those customers were in Orange County alone.
Meanwhile, parts of Long Island, with warm air coming off the Atlantic keeping the precipitation mainly in the form of rain, received no more than two inches of snow by 5 p.m. Totals on the South Fork might not reach two inches for the entire storm.
While delays and cancellations were light at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport felt the brunt of the weather, reporting nearly 600 cancellations. Heavy rain at Logan International Airport in Boston were causing 85 minute delays.
“This is an incredibly slow moving storm,” said Brandon Smith, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Upton, N.Y. “It’s literally going to sit over us for the next two days.”
Recent warmer weather and rain had meant that Philadelphians had finally seen the last of the old snow that fell in February. At least they know what to expect.
Captain Coalson of the Chester Township Police said his officers would be out handling accident reports on Interstate 95, and issuing citations for certain recalcitrant snow shovelers. Local laws prohibit the common practice of pushing or dumping shoveled snow in the street for passing plows to deal with; fines for violations can range from $25 to $600. “We don’t enforce it until two, three days down the road,” Captain Coalson said.
Some residents try to reserve for themselves the curbside parking spots outside their homes that they have laboriously cleared of snow by leaving folding chairs in the spots when the car is not there. “We will collect the chairs and throw them out,” Captain Coalson warned.
Staying put might be the answer, since travel seemed to be deteriorating in the Northeast, making travel difficult.
Complicating matters for Amtrak service along the busy Northeast Corridor was a fatal accident believed to be unrelated to weather. A high-speed Acela train from Boston bound for Washington struck two pedestrians on the tracks nine miles south of Philadelphia at 10:28 a.m. Thursday, said Tracy Connell, an Amtrak spokeswoman. Ms. Connell said both people died, but that she did not have any more information.
Four mainline tracks were closed while the accident was investigated, and service was not fully restored until 1 p.m.
