BOSTON—A “historic” winter storm that has caused more than 2,100 U.S. flights to be scrubbed has triggered a blizzard warning in New York City and may drop more knee-deep snow on Boston, leaving thousands without power.
Snow will start falling early Friday in New York, where the blizzard warning begins at 6 a.m. It will then change to rain or sleet.
The storm may bring 30 centimetres of snow driven by gusts of up to 72 km/h as it lashes the city into the evening, said Joe Pollina, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
“We’re taking this storm very seriously and you should take this storm very seriously,” said Jerome Hauer, commissioner of New York’s division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.
“This is a dangerous storm with a lot of blowing snow, and very significant winds that will make travel Friday night into Saturday almost impossible.”
The Star’s storm watch
United, Delta, American Airlines and other air carriers issued travel waivers that allow passengers to change their plans without penalty. More than 2,100 flights have been cancelled for Friday.
For those travelling to or from Toronto, airlines operating out of Pearson Airport had cancelled 30 per cent of their Friday flights by late Thursday night. Airport spokeswoman Trish Krale told the Star’s Micah Luxen that airlines operating out of Pearson would continued to weigh their schedules in light of the storm.
In New England, snow will probably spread through Connecticut and Rhode Island by midmorning and reach Boston by early afternoon, said Carl Erickson, an expert senior meteorologist with AccuWeather.
The snow isn’t expected to change to rain further north, which is why the snow accumulations will be greater, he said. By Friday night
the entire Interstate 95 corridor from New York to Maine will be covered with snow.
The forecast nor’easter is the product of two low-pressure systems expected to merge off the coast of the U.S. and combine with arctic air pumped in via the jet stream.
In Boston, Mayor Thomas Menino cancelled school across the city of 625,087 for Friday and asked people to work at home.
“We have a significant storm heading this way,” Menino told reporters. “Stay home, stay off the streets.”
The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, which runs the city’s buses, commuter rail and subways, will close at 3:30 p.m. Friday. Amtrak will end rail service out of Boston at 1:40 p.m.
“I am telling people to get where you’ve got to go around noon on Friday because from there after everything goes downhill,” said Alan Dunham, a weather service meteorologist. “The potential is there for this to be a historic winter storm for southern New England.”
Dunham warned there could be widespread power outages.
“People should go ahead and make sure they have batteries,” he said, “and go to the ATM and make sure they have some cash. Some of these power outages could be prolonged.”
Rob Carolan, owner and meteorologist of Hometown Forecast Services, said it could be a “Top 5 storm” for Boston.
“This could come in at No. 3 all-time in records going back to the 1880s,” he said. “Boston usually doesn’t see two feet of snow and it has a good chance of doing it this time around.”
The snow that falls along the coast may be heavy and wet sticking to tree branches and power lines like “plaster,” Carolan said. With the gusts predicted for the region there is a good chance lines and trees will topple.
Utilities from New Jersey to Massachusetts urged customers to stock bottled water as well as canned or dried food to endure long blackouts. Blizzards and ice storms block roads, impeding repair crews.
As the storm intensifies it is expected to produce bands of snow that will make travel dangerous and difficult, said Tim Morrin, a weather service meteorologist. The snow may accumulate at 7 centimetres per hour, causing conditions to deteriorate rapidly by dark.
Snow plows can’t keep up with accumulations of more than 2.5 centimetres an hour, Carolan said. All that cities and towns can do then is try to keep major roadways open.
Dunham said roads that run from west to east, such as Interstate 90, will be hard to keep open because the wind will be blowing the snow across the pavement.
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