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Wind and Snow Pick Up as Storm Stops Flights and Cancels Trains Winter Storm Pounds Northeast With Wind, Snow and Flooding
(about 5 hours later)
With twisting winds and sideways gusts of snow, the first major snowstorm of the season lashed New York City on Thursday, slowing commutes, shuttering schools and punishing those who stepped outside with weather that had started in Florida and turned into a swirling blizzard by the time it charged up the Northeast. After battering the South and whipping up the Mid-Atlantic coast, a blizzard propelled by hurricane-strength winds lashed the Northeast on Thursday, grounding flights, shuttering schools, flooding buildings and sending squalls of snow into the tunnels of New York City’s subway system.
The storm stopped flights at La Guardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport, canceled trains, slowed traffic to a crawl and sent squalls of snow flying into underground subway stations and through the corridors between Manhattan skyscrapers. In downtown Boston, a three-foot tidal surge flooded a subway station and turned a popular tourist district into a slushy tundra. In New York, the two major airports stopped flights and cars slid off glazed roads. And in Virginia, thousands of homes and businesses lost power.
Six inches of snow had piled up in parts of Brooklyn and Queens by noon, while sections of Long Island were coated in nine inches. Wind gusts topped 40 miles per hour in the city and neared 60 miles per hour on Long Island. The storm, dubbed a “bomb cyclone” by some meteorologists for how quickly the barometric pressure fell, created winds that topped 75 miles per hour in Nantucket and 65 miles per hour on Long Island, tearing the roof off a gas station and making some crossings impassable for trucks.
The National Weather Service updated its forecast to predict eight inches of snow in New York City and 15 inches on the eastern end of Long Island. And even as 1,500 snow plows and 693 salt spreaders moved through the city, the region braced for nights ahead of toe-numbing cold, with Mayor Bill de Blasio saying it could feel like minus 20 degrees on Friday and Saturday nights with the wind chill. As treacherous as it was, elected officials warned that the storm was a prelude to worse misery, with days of subzero wind chills ahead that could freeze snowy roads and put homeless people in grave danger.
In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said it could feel like minus-20 degrees on Friday and Saturday nights. There were eight inches of snow in Central Park and more than nine inches coating sections of Queens.
“This is a serious, serious storm,” Mr. de Blasio said at a news conference. “We expect tough conditions for days to come, particularly in terms of cold.”“This is a serious, serious storm,” Mr. de Blasio said at a news conference. “We expect tough conditions for days to come, particularly in terms of cold.”
Several public housing developments had lost heat and hot water. Mr. de Blasio said he expected city schools to open on Friday, but he had not made a final decision. At the summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire, often one of the coldest and most treacherous places in New England during a storm, the wind chill was expected to plummet as low as minus-95 degrees on Friday night, “which could cause frostbite in a matter of minutes,” said Caleb Meute, a staff meteorologist at the Mount Washington Observatory.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York declared a state of emergency for the southern part of the state. Cars had been stranded overnight on the Long Island Expressway as road conditions deteriorated, Mr. Cuomo said, creating a “significant issue of public safety.” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York declared a state of emergency for Westchester, New York City and Long Island, and state officials imposed speed restrictions on some bridges and banned trucks on others because of high winds.
The state imposed speed restrictions on some roads and banned trucks on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge because of high winds. Officials closed the runways at La Guardia and Kennedy Airports in New York and canceled nearly three-quarters of the day’s schedule at Newark Liberty International in New Jersey. Passengers were stranded far and wide, as airlines canceled more than 4,000 flights on Thursday and more than 600 on Friday, according to FlightAware.com, a website that tracks flights.
The region’s airports remained open, but all flights were suspended at La Guardia and Kennedy Airports. At Newark Liberty International in New Jersey, airlines had canceled 867 flights, nearly three-quarters of the day’s schedule. Utility companies hurried to restore electricity to tens of thousands of homes and businesses up and down the East Coast. Several public housing developments in New York City lost heat and hot water.
Martin Acosta, 26, from Chihuahua, Mexico, was boarding a bus to La Guardia Airport in Jackson Heights, Queens, for his return trip. He tried visiting Central Park on Thursday morning, but was stopped by the snow. And now he was struggling to get an answer from his airline’s customer service line about the fate of his flight. In North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper said two men died when a pickup truck overturned in an icy creek in Moore County, and a third death was reported in Beaufort County.
“So I’m going there myself to find out when I can leave,” he said. And in Savannah, Ga., which recorded its first snowfall in years this week, several cars of an Amtrak train carrying more than 300 people from Miami to New York derailed, though it was not clear whether the storm was a factor. Officials said there were no reports of injuries.
The governors of New Jersey and Connecticut told nonessential state employees to stay home and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey declared a state of emergency for Atlantic, Cape May, Monmouth and Ocean counties. New York City schools, closed on Thursday, were expected to reopen on Friday.
In Asbury Park, in Monmouth County, the first plows started scraping the pavement before 6 a.m., moving through clouds of wind-whipped snow that blew horizontally down Ocean Avenue and the boardwalk. With schools and many businesses closed, there were few signs of activity in the blue-gray morning. But Boston was recovering more slowly. School was canceled on Friday. The tides there were the highest in nearly 40 years, and meteorologists were working to determine whether they exceeded the tides that came in with the Blizzard of 1978.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority was deploying an arsenal of equipment to keep the Long Island Rail Road running through the storm: switch heaters, third-rail heaters and antifreeze trains. That was little comfort for Ralph Girardi, who pulled a cellphone from his backpack inside the waiting area of the Bellmore station. He was not going to take any chances. Waters from the Massachusetts Bay poured into a subway station near the New England Aquarium and brought flooding to an unusually broad swath of the city, including the Seaport District, which is full of glassy new construction; Charlestown; the North End; Dorchester; and East Boston.
“It’s dangerous,” said Martin J. Walsh, the mayor of Boston, calling the storm a reminder of the damage expected as climate change drives stronger storms. “If anyone wants to question global warming, just see where the flood zones are.”
Firefighters rescued someone from a car trapped in water nearly up to its door handles, said Joseph Finn, the commissioner of the Boston Fire Department.
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen the water come this high in the downtown area,” Commissioner Finn said. Firefighters inspected flooded buildings to see which ones could pose a fire risk and made a small number of additional rescues in coastal areas of the city, helping people out of stranded cars in the icy water.
“The tough part of this is it’s going to repeat itself at 12:30 tonight,” Commissioner Finn said, referring to the next high tide.
In New York, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority deployed an arsenal of equipment to keep the Long Island Rail Road running through the storm: switch heaters, third-rail heaters and antifreeze trains. That was little comfort for Ralph Girardi, who pulled a cellphone from his backpack inside the waiting area of the Bellmore station on Thursday morning. He was not going to take any chances.
“I’m just about to call my boss and tell him I am turning around,” Mr. Girardi, 60, said. “ I just don’t trust the trains. My concern is that I’m not going to be able to get out of the city later in the day.”“I’m just about to call my boss and tell him I am turning around,” Mr. Girardi, 60, said. “ I just don’t trust the trains. My concern is that I’m not going to be able to get out of the city later in the day.”
At about 11:30 a.m., the Long Island Rail Road suspended service on the West Hempstead branch because of switch problems caused by weather. The Metro-North Railroad said wind and snow were causing delays on its Hudson Line. It said that some trains may be combined or canceled. Cars were stranded on the Long Island Expressway and others skidded and slipped off the road as conditions deteriorated, Mr. Cuomo said, creating a “significant issue of public safety.”
Mr. Cuomo said the evening rush was expected to be worse. In New Jersey, where Gov. Chris Christie declared a state of emergency, the winter storm created whiteout conditions on roadways, shut schools, delayed trains and even held up legislation. Winds tore the roof off a gas station in Garfield, N.J., on Thursday afternoon.
On Long Island, snow drifts piled up on every corner. Drivers crawled through a wall of white on roads littered with cars that had gotten stuck or had pulled over. Plows cleared roadways only for new gusts of snow to cover them again. The State Senate and Assembly both postponed votes that had been scheduled to cram key legislation into the final days of the lame-duck legislature, including a vote on $5 billion in potential tax credits to help lure Amazon to the state.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone declared a state of emergency on Thursday morning, making the county eligible for disaster funding. Any legislation needs to be voted on by Tuesday at noon to be considered by Mr. Christie before a new legislature takes over and governor-elect Philip D. Murphy is sworn in.
“The storm has worsened and it’s definitely lived up to its billing,” said Mr. Bellone. “We’re dealing with white-out conditions that make it difficult for plow operators to maneuver and do their work, let alone normal driving.” On Long Island, snow drifts piled up on every corner. Drivers crawled through a wall of white on roads littered with cars that had gotten stuck or had pulled over. Plows cleared roadways only for new gusts of snow to cover their handiwork.
Mr. Bellone had been on the roads all day, he said, and saw “way too many motorists on the road” early on. And with weather forecasters predicting frigid temperatures following the storm, challenges abound. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said plow operators were struggling with whiteout conditions. If forecasts for frigid temperatures hold true, he said, “that snow and ice is going to be frozen in place.”
If it stays cold, he said, “that snow and ice is going to be frozen in place.” The shelves of some New York City grocery stores quickly emptied of milk, eggs and kale as New Yorkers stocked up for the storm, and grocers worried whether the next produce trucks would ever arrive.
Cars were skidding and slipping in the northern suburbs, too. Westchester County police officers removed a dozen disabled cars on four county parkways in the early hours of Thursday’s commute. The streets were largely empty at the height of the storm, with workers outside hotels and apartment buildings shoveling snow and then, as more fell, shoveling again.
“The roads are slick, they are icy and snow-covered,” said Christine Kelleher, a spokeswoman for the Westchester County Police. “We recommend that you stay off them. Most of the disabled cars have been spin outs.” Cars inched along roads in Queens, with a number of side streets still waiting to be plowed by the morning rush hour. Commuters kept their eyes to the ground, fearful of being battered by the horizontal snow.
The NYC Ferry suspended service to some of its docks on Thursday morning, but continued to operate other routes on the East River. On the aboveground subway platform at Astoria Boulevard, riders hid behind signs and advertisements to avoid the whipping winds. But on a morning like Thursday, commuters brave enough to face the storm welcomed the unexpected: the subways, at least for the moment, seemed to be running on time.
Aside from a handful of delivery trucks and bike messengers, the major thoroughfares of Astoria were largely empty on Thursday morning, as the storm descended on this northwestern corner of Queens.
Cars inched along, with a number of side streets still waiting to be plowed by rush hour. Commuters kept their eyes to the ground, fearful of being battered by the horizontal snow.
Snowy wind battered cars on aboveground subway trains in Queens, blowing in when doors opened at each stop. Commuters hastily entered, kicked off the snow on their boots, and held onto bars as the floor proved slippery.
On the aboveground subway platform at Astoria Boulevard, riders hid behind signs and advertisements to avoid the whipping winds. But on a morning like this, commuters brave enough to face the storm welcomed the unexpected: the subways, at least for the moment, seemed to be running on time.