A storm blowing through the US’ northeast will not drop as much snow as forecasters anticipated, sparing residents and clean-up crews the worst of the potentially life-threatening blizzard that some predicted.
New York might get no more than 30cm of snow as northeasterly winds were tipped to taper off last night, compared with a forecast of as much as 60cm, said Steve Lavoie, a staff meteorologist at Hometown Forecast Services in Nashua, New Hampshire.
“We’re not expecting a historic snowstorm, but it will still be bad,” Lavoie said.”
The National Weather Service downgraded its assessment from a blizzard warning to a winter storm warning. In the update at 5:21am New York time, the service expected blizzard conditions in Connecticut and Long Island, but not New York City or northern New Jersey.
As the snow began to fall on Monday, regional activity ground to a standstill. Travel bans took effect shortly before midnight in New York, while New Jersey and Connecticut cleared roads for emergency vehicles and hundreds of snow plows and salt spreaders.
Heeding predictions of life-threatening blizzard whiteouts and hurricane force winds reaching 120kph near the coast, US government officials shut highways, bridges, transit systems and schools from Maine to New Jersey. Broadway shows and sporting events were canceled. Residents made last-minute dashes to stock up on food and water.
Manhattan’s streetscape resembled a shaken snow globe. After the vehicle ban took effect at 11pm, a typically bustling stretch of Lexington Avenue in midtown was devoid of life except for one taxi and a man walking two dogs. The pavement was coated white, with the odd pair of tire tracks snaking down the middle.
Airlines canceled thousands of flights through yesterday. Commuter rail services, subways and buses in and out of New York City stopped running, and all trans-Hudson River crossings, including the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, and the George Washington Bridge were shut, with only emergency vehicles allowed. Amtrak suspended rail services for the New England region and scaled it back south of New York.
Officials had urged people to stay inside and prepare for the worst. The storm was due to peak overnight and into the morning with as much as 12cm of snow falling per hour. The blizzard warnings extended as far north as Newfoundland in Canada, and winter weather advisories stretched as far south as Georgia.
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