A mammoth snowstorm continuing along the New York-to-Boston corridor is responsible for power outages affecting more than 650,000 homes and businesses.
The storm has dumped more than 70 centimetres of snow on New England and created blizzard conditions with hurricane-force winds. Worst-hit areas are eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.
Airlines cancelled more than 5,300 flights through Saturday, and New York City's three major airports along with Boston's Logan Airport are closed.
A city worker in New Bedford, Mass., cuts a fallen tree on Friday after the storm moved in. (Peter Pereira/Standard Times/Associated Press) The wind-whipped snowstorm mercifully arrived at the start of a weekend, which meant fewer cars on the road and extra time for sanitation crews to clear the mess before commuters in the New York-to-Boston region of roughly 25 million people have to go back to work.
But it could also mean a weekend cooped up indoors.
For a group of stranded European business travellers, it meant making the best of downtime in a hotel restaurant Friday night in downtown Boston, where snow blew outside and drifted into deep piles on the sidewalks.
The six Santander bank employees found their flights back to Spain cancelled, and they gave up on seeing the city or having dinner out.
"We are not believing it," said Tommaso Memeghini, 29, an Italian who lives in Barcelona. "We were told it may be the biggest snowstorm in the last 20 years."
The U.S. National Weather Service says nearly a metre of snow is expected in Boston, threatening a record set in 2003. A wind gust of 122 km/h was recorded at Logan Airport.
In heavily Catholic Boston, the archdiocese urged parishioners to be prudent about attending Sunday Mass and reminded them that, under church law, the obligation "does not apply when there is grave difficulty in fulfilling this obligation."
Halfway through what had been a mild winter across the Northeast, blizzard warnings were posted from parts of New Jersey to Maine.
The National Weather Service said Boston could get close to a metre of snow by Saturday evening, while most of Rhode Island could receive more than 60 centimetres, most of it falling overnight Friday into Saturday. Connecticut was bracing for 60 centimetres, and New York City was expecting as much as 36 centimetres.
Early snowfall was blamed for a 19-car pileup in Cumberland, Maine, that caused minor injuries. In New York, hundreds of cars began getting stuck on the Long Island Expressway on Friday afternoon at the beginning of the snowstorm and dozens of motorists remained disabled early Saturday as police worked to free them.
About 650,000 customers in the Northeast lost power during the height of the snowstorm, most of them in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, Mass., lost electricity and shut down Friday night during the storm. Authorities say there's no threat to public safety.
At least four deaths were being blamed on the storm, three in Canada and one in New York. In southern Ontario, an 80-year-old woman collapsed while shovelling her driveway and two men were killed in car crashes. In New York, a 74-year-old man died after being struck by a car in Poughkeepsie; the driver said she lost control in the snowy conditions, police said.
Forecasters said high wind gusts could cause more widespread power outages and whip the snow into fearsome drifts. Flooding was expected along coastal areas still recovering from Superstorm Sandy, which hit New York and New Jersey the hardest and is considered Jersey's worst natural disaster.
In Manhattan, streets normally bustling after midnight, were quiet Saturday but for the hum of snow blowers, the scrape of shovels and the laughter from late night revelers who braved the snow.
Bill Tavonallo, 39, said he walked home on purpose from a Manhattan bar to enjoy the snow falling.
"With Sandy, we were scared. But this is wonderful," he said, his glasses crusted with ice. "It's nice to have a reason to slow down."
Driving ban in Massachusetts
In Massachusetts, Gov. Deval Patrick enacted a statewide driving ban for the first time since the Blizzard of '78, a ferocious storm that dropped 68 centimetres of snow, packed hurricane-force winds and claimed dozens of lives.
In New York, Fashion Week, a series of designer showings with some activities held under tents, went on mostly as scheduled, though organizers put on additional crews to deal with the snow and ice, turned up the heat and fortified the tents. The snow did require some wardrobe changes: Designer Michael Kors was forced to arrive at the Project Runway show in Uggs.
For Joe DeMartino, of Fairfield, Conn., being overprepared for the weather was impossible: His wife was expecting their first baby Sunday. He stocked up on gas and food, got firewood ready and was installing a baby seat in the car. The couple also packed for the hospital.
"They say that things should clear up by Sunday. We're hoping that they're right," he said.
Said his wife, Michelle: "It adds an element of excitement."
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Massive snowstorm pounds U.S. Northeast
Dengan url
http://topstorinfo.blogspot.com/2013/02/massive-snowstorm-pounds-us-northeast.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Massive snowstorm pounds U.S. Northeast
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Massive snowstorm pounds U.S. Northeast
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar