This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/03/us/cold-weather-winter-storm.html

The article has changed 17 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 4 Version 5
Light Snow Falls in Florida and Georgia as a Winter Storm Hits the South Light Snow Falls in Florida and Georgia as ‘Bomb Cyclone’ Hits the South
(about 1 hour later)
The South was feeling the frosty effects on Wednesday of a powerful winter storm forecast to hit most of the Eastern United States, prolonging a stretch of strikingly bitter cold that has enveloped much of the country and already buried some places under a record amount of snow. The South was feeling the frosty effects on Wednesday of a powerful winter storm, known as a “bomb cyclone,” forecast to hit most of the Eastern United States, prolonging a stretch of strikingly bitter cold that has enveloped much of the country and already buried some places under a record amount of snow.
Months after a busy hurricane season, the storm brought frigid wind, freezing rain and even snow to parts of northern Florida and southern Georgia — areas unaccustomed to white winters. The National Weather Service warned of hazardous travel conditions, including limited visibility and icy roads. Forecasters expect the storm to eventually hit the Northeast, all the way up to Maine.Months after a busy hurricane season, the storm brought frigid wind, freezing rain and even snow to parts of northern Florida and southern Georgia — areas unaccustomed to white winters. The National Weather Service warned of hazardous travel conditions, including limited visibility and icy roads. Forecasters expect the storm to eventually hit the Northeast, all the way up to Maine.
Here’s the latest:Here’s the latest:
• A winter storm warning has been issued by the National Weather Service for parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, with heavy snowfall and wind chills of up to -25 degrees expected.
• Freezing rain and ice shut down significant stretches of highway in northern Florida. The authorities in Leon County, which includes Tallahassee, said Wednesday that more than 50 miles of road on Interstate 10 had been closed in both directions, as were parts of Highway 90.• Freezing rain and ice shut down significant stretches of highway in northern Florida. The authorities in Leon County, which includes Tallahassee, said Wednesday that more than 50 miles of road on Interstate 10 had been closed in both directions, as were parts of Highway 90.
• Airlines have canceled many flights to and from destinations along the East Coast and warned that their schedules could face continued disruptions. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, Southwest and United were among the major carriers that said passengers could change certain travel plans without penalties.• Airlines have canceled many flights to and from destinations along the East Coast and warned that their schedules could face continued disruptions. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, Southwest and United were among the major carriers that said passengers could change certain travel plans without penalties.
• It was 35 degrees in Jacksonville, Fla., and New Orleans; 23 degrees in Jackson, Miss.; 28 degrees in Atlanta; and 14 degrees in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina, as of about 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday.• It was 35 degrees in Jacksonville, Fla., and New Orleans; 23 degrees in Jackson, Miss.; 28 degrees in Atlanta; and 14 degrees in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina, as of about 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
• It was the coldest it has been in Raleigh-Durham in more than 130 years. A temperature of 9 degrees at the area’s airport tied a record low set in 1887, the National Weather Service said.• It was the coldest it has been in Raleigh-Durham in more than 130 years. A temperature of 9 degrees at the area’s airport tied a record low set in 1887, the National Weather Service said.
• Sign up for the Morning Briefing for news and a daily look at what you need to know to begin your day.• Sign up for the Morning Briefing for news and a daily look at what you need to know to begin your day.
Greg Carbin, chief of forecast operations for the National Weather Service, called the storm a “mid-latitude cyclone” — as opposed to a hurricane, which is a tropical cyclone. When discussing the storm, some weather forecasters have referred to a “bomb cyclone.” Calling it a “bomb” sounds dire, but they are not exceedingly rare — there was one in New England recently.
“If it comes close enough to the coast, you can get a walloping snowfall,” Mr. Carbin said Tuesday afternoon. What makes a storm a “bomb” is how fast the atmospheric pressure falls; falling atmospheric pressure is a characteristic of all storms. By definition, the barometric pressure must drop by at least 24 millibars in 24 hours for a storm to be called a bomb cyclone.
Tuesday was already cold, with high temperatures ranging from 0 degrees in the Northeast to the low 40s in parts of North Florida. It was in the 20s and 30s in parts of Texas, where much of the state was under a freeze warning. Here’s how it works: Deep drops in barometric pressure occur when a region of warm air meets one of cold air. The air starts to move, and the rotation of the earth creates a cyclonic effect. The direction is counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere (when viewed from above), leading to winds that come out of the northeast — a Nor’easter.
The storm is expected to track along the coast throughout Wednesday, and winter storm warnings were in effect from Florida to Massachusetts. Officials were especially worried about the wind chills of the coming days and warned that Philadelphia could feel like -10 and Washington would seem like -3. Wind chills were expected to hover around zero in the Carolinas. That’s what happened at the end of October, when warm air from the remnants of a tropical cyclone over the Atlantic collided with a cold front coming from the Midwest. Among other impacts then, more than 80,000 electric customers in Maine lost power as high winds toppled trees.
The Washington Dulles International Airport, in Northern Virginia, reported Wednesday that it had already posted a record low temperature: 1 degree, shattering records from two days in the 1970s, when the low temperature was 8 degrees. A similar effect is expected late Wednesday, as warm air over the ocean meets extremely cold polar air that has descended over the East. Pressure is expected to fall quickly from Florida northward.
A shot of Arctic air will reinforce that cold and feed the storm, according to Mr. Carbin, who noted that a stretch from Louisiana to Georgia had already seen snow a few weeks ago. New York City is forecast to receive four to six inches of snow, beginning Wednesday night, with a dangerously cold -14 degree wind chill, the Weather Service said in a briefing.
“We are,” he said, “in the depths of winter.” Chilly gusts of up to 50 m.p.h. are likely to whip eastern Long Island and southeastern Connecticut starting late Thursday morning, bringing with them the potential for downed tree limbs and scattered power outages, the National Weather Service said.
Over a foot of snow, with possible blizzard conditions, is likely in New London and New Haven Counties in Connecticut, in Suffolk County on Long Island and in Middlesex County in New Jersey through Thursday.
A 25- to 50-mile westward shift of the storm’s predicted path would increase the likelihood of a foot of snow for Long Island and Connecticut and more than six inches in the New York and New Jersey metropolitan areas.
For Bostonians, Wednesday’s forecast high of 28 degrees was almost a welcome relief after days of temperatures that hovered in or near the single digits. But it was quite literally cold comfort, with Thursday’s storm expected to drop 8 to 12 inches of snow on the city and potentially create blizzard conditions up and down the New England coast.
The National Weather Service posted winter storm warnings beginning at 1 a.m. Thursday for a broad swath of Massachusetts and all of Rhode Island, and a blizzard warning stretched along much of the coast, from Cape Cod to the Canadian border.
“Travel will be very difficult to impossible,” said a bulletin from the Weather Service’s office in Taunton, Mass., which also warned of potential for coastal flooding and up to 14 inches of snowfall in places. The snow could fall as fast as 2-3 inches per hour on Thursday morning, the service said.
The storm will follow a long period of deep cold that has already taxed transit systems, fuel supplies and homeless shelters in New England. And it has turned many of the region’s harbors to ice.
“Oh yeah, we’re frozen solid,” said Dawson Farber, the harbormaster in Dennis, Mass., who said the harbor looked like “a huge saltwater skating rink right in front of my window.”
By the time workdays would normally be beginning, light snow had already fallen in northern Florida and southern Georgia — areas that are not highly accustomed to winter weather.By the time workdays would normally be beginning, light snow had already fallen in northern Florida and southern Georgia — areas that are not highly accustomed to winter weather.
Tallahassee, Florida’s capital, sees flurries every few years, said Mark Wool, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Tallahassee office. But the tenth to two-tenths of an inch of snow recorded Wednesday? Not since 1989.Tallahassee, Florida’s capital, sees flurries every few years, said Mark Wool, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Tallahassee office. But the tenth to two-tenths of an inch of snow recorded Wednesday? Not since 1989.
“It’s quite rare,” Mr. Wool said. “Everybody down here’s pretty excited.”“It’s quite rare,” Mr. Wool said. “Everybody down here’s pretty excited.”
The dusting, which was preceded by a couple of hours of freezing rain, lasted about an hour. It was over by about 9 a.m., though more snow was falling just north of Tallahassee, in southern Georgia.The dusting, which was preceded by a couple of hours of freezing rain, lasted about an hour. It was over by about 9 a.m., though more snow was falling just north of Tallahassee, in southern Georgia.
Chris Jones, the fire chief in Thomas County in southern Georgia, said the snowfall was brief there, too.Chris Jones, the fire chief in Thomas County in southern Georgia, said the snowfall was brief there, too.
“The radar indication was almost spot on: When it moved past us on the radar, it almost stopped immediately,” said Mr. Jones, who added that there had been small accumulations, but that the roads were rapidly clearing.“The radar indication was almost spot on: When it moved past us on the radar, it almost stopped immediately,” said Mr. Jones, who added that there had been small accumulations, but that the roads were rapidly clearing.
Four people spent Tuesday night at a warming station at a church near the Florida-Georgia border, and the chief said local officials thought the area’s homeless would again seek shelter on Wednesday night. “It’s going to get back down into the high 20s,” he said.
A handful of school districts in North Florida that had already resumed classes after winter break, including in Tallahassee and Gainesville, had previously closed. It is the second time in recent months that many children in the area will lose school days because of the weather: Hurricane Irma forced shutdowns in September.A handful of school districts in North Florida that had already resumed classes after winter break, including in Tallahassee and Gainesville, had previously closed. It is the second time in recent months that many children in the area will lose school days because of the weather: Hurricane Irma forced shutdowns in September.
The National Weather Service, which had called for 3 inches of snow in Charleston said Wednesday that it expected 3 to 4 inches. Warming shelters have been opened in the area, for the homeless and other vulnerable people. Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina said on Wednesday he would declare an emergency in places forecast to be affected by the storm, including eastern counties unused to snow. Up to 8 inches are expected in Camden and Currituck Counties, in the state’s northeastern edge.
Elsewhere, the forecast for Walterboro, S.C., shifted from an inch of snow to 3 or 4 inches. “What I worry about are people in their homes who may lose power and may lose the ability to heat their homes,” Mr. Cooper said.
And some of coastal South Carolina’s most populated areas had surprisingly robust odds of at least 4 inches of snow: The weather service said Charleston, which last year became the state’s most populous city, had a one-in-four chance. His administration is providing four-wheelers and Humvees to local governments to help people who might get stranded. State troopers are marking abandoned cars along roads to ensure no one is left stranded.
Motorists were having trouble even before the worst of the weather hit. “The good news is that the storm is moving quickly and should be gone by Thursday evening,” the governor said. “The bad news is that we will have unusually cold temperatures sticking around for several days.”
AAA Carolinas, which works in both North Carolina and South Carolina, said it had received 4,400 calls for roadside assistance on Tuesday — almost double its normal volume. About a third of the calls were battery-related.
On Tuesday, Gov. Nathan Deal of Georgia declared an emergency for 28 counties along or near the state’s southeastern coast. Mr. Deal’s declaration includes Chatham County, home to about 289,000 people.On Tuesday, Gov. Nathan Deal of Georgia declared an emergency for 28 counties along or near the state’s southeastern coast. Mr. Deal’s declaration includes Chatham County, home to about 289,000 people.
Mr. Deal was among the Georgia politicians who received criticism after a winter storm paralyzed Atlanta in 2014. In a statement on Tuesday evening, he noted that the state Department of Transportation had sent all of its brine trucks, as well as 75 plows, to southeast Georgia.Mr. Deal was among the Georgia politicians who received criticism after a winter storm paralyzed Atlanta in 2014. In a statement on Tuesday evening, he noted that the state Department of Transportation had sent all of its brine trucks, as well as 75 plows, to southeast Georgia.
“I encourage all Georgians in the potentially impacted areas to stay informed, get prepared and be safe,” he said.“I encourage all Georgians in the potentially impacted areas to stay informed, get prepared and be safe,” he said.
In North Carolina on Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Roy Cooper warned that the forecast for his state — up to five inches of snow in eastern counties — could change quickly. Geoff LeBaron, the director of Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count, a kind of early-winter bird census that has been taking place since the year 1900, said that, fortunately, birds that could not effectively weather cold snaps were already further south than the continental United States.
“A small change in a storm’s track can make a big difference in how much snow falls and where,” Mr. Cooper said. “Warblers, thrushes, tanagers, they’re down in Central and South America,” he said. “The birds that winter in the Southern U.S. are better able to withstand the temperatures and have more flexibility in terms of the food they can eat.”
The state’s emergency management director, Mike Sprayberry, said counties were preparing to open warming centers if they were needed, and state officials said workers were already dumping brine onto roadways, overpasses and bridges from Raleigh eastward. Mr. LeBaron said that waterfowl and marsh birds might be affected if there was significant snow cover or if water sources were frozen over.
The conditions also led to the shutdown, or planned closure, of ports in Savannah, Ga., and Charleston. Officials at other major ports said Wednesday morning that they were monitoring conditions and could close them later in the week. And he warned that the increasing number of hummingbirds that spend the winter in the South might be affected, and said that people who maintain the birds’ feeders should keep the feeders warm and well-supplied.
But he said that the short amount of time the cold was expected to last would allow others to scrounge through.
“The birds that are wintering down there are going to have to hunker down and deal with the conditions,” he said.
Just like the humans.