The first flakes ahead of a "crippling and potentially historic" blizzard began swirling through New York City on Monday morning, with forecasters predicting up to 90 centimetres of snow could bury communities from northern New Jersey to southern Maine.
The National Weather Service said the nor'easter would bring heavy snow, powerful winds and widespread coastal flooding starting Monday and through Tuesday. A blizzard warning was issued for a 400-kilometre stretch of the Northeast, including New York and Boston, in a storm that could be one of the worst since records started being kept in 1872.
"A cold surge of Canadian air is strengthening a system in Virginia and is now bringing snow to the most densely populated region of the U.S.," said Chris Murphy, who's with The Weather Network. "As the low drifts out to sea, it is expected to catch a ride along the jet stream and spin its wintry misery northwards, cancelling flights by the thousands."
The storm system has the potential to impact as many as 60 million people.
"We're talking about one of the most densely populated regions in the world, and they're going to see 40, 50, 60, 70-plus centimetres of snow. Wow," Murphy said.
"This is going to be a slow-moving storm, and it is going to have the capacity overnight tonight and especially into Tuesday of dropping that snow in a hurry. This could be five-centimetre-an-hour kind of snowfall, so it's going to pile up very quick.
"Strong winds out of the northeast will buffet the coast, producing a surge capable of flooding and doing damage in areas that were pummelled by superstorm Sandy."
Airlines are cancelling thousands of flights into and out of East Coast airports as the snowstorm barrels down on the region.
So far more than 2,100 flights scheduled for Monday have been cancelled, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware, and another 2,100 flights have been scrapped for Tuesday — and the cancellations keep mounting.
Problems in the Northeast are also rippling outward.
In West Palm Beach, Fla., where temperatures are expected to be in the 20s Monday, about 30 per cent of all flights have been cancelled. Fort Lauderdale and Orlando are also reporting major cancellations.
Most major airlines are allowing customers whose flights are cancelled in the next few days to book new flights without paying a penalty. Customers ticketed on flights to dozens of Eastern airports are generally eligible for the allowance, though specific terms vary by airline.
Estimated snowfall accumulations:
- New York City: 45 to 60 cm
- Boston: 61 to 91 cm
- Providence: 61 to 91 cm
- Philadelphia: 25 to 36 cm
Snowstorm vs. blizzard: What's the difference?
The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for a huge swath of the U.S.'s Northeast corridor, from New Jersey up to Massachusetts, meaning potential white-out conditions as heavy snow swirls amid gusting wind
The weather service says a blizzard includes sustained or frequent wind gusts of 35 miles per hour (56 km/h) or greater and considerable falling snow that lasts for at least three hours.
This storm is expected to last up to 36 hours in some locations, forecasters said. But another storm could be looming ahead of next weekend.
'A big threat of high, damaging winds'
Officials cautioned residents to not be misled by a relatively smooth morning commute, warning that getting home could be difficult and asking residents to avoid any unnecessary travel.
A winter wallop headed for the U.S.'s busy northeast corridor is expected to bring up to 60 centimetres of snow from northern New Jersey up to Massachusetts. (Michael Dwyer/Associated Press)
Some schools were planning to close early or not open at all Monday in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.
Government officials began to activate emergency centres on Sunday as professional sports teams, schools and utilities hastily revised their schedules and made preparations.
"This could be a storm the likes of which we have never seen before," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told a news conference in a Manhattan sanitation garage where workers were preparing plows and salt for the massive cleanup on about 10,000 kilometres of city roadways.
"New Yorkers should not underestimate this storm. Assume conditions will be unsafe. Assume that you do not want to be out in this storm. When you can stay indoors, stay indoors; when you can stay off the roads, stay off the roads."
In Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker warned residents to prepare for roads that are "very hard, if not impossible, to navigate," power outages and possibly even a lack of public transportation.
Boston is expected to get 45 to 60 centimetres of snow, with up to 60 centimetres or more west of the city, and Philadelphia could see up to a foot, the weather service said.
The Washington area expected only a couple of inches, with steadily increasing amounts as the storm heads north.
"We do anticipate very heavy snowfall totals," said Bob Oravec, lead forecaster with the weather service in College Park, Maryland. "In addition to heavy snow, with blizzard warnings, there's a big threat of high, damaging winds, and that will be increasing Monday into Tuesday. A lot of blowing, drifting and such."
Wind gusts of 120 km/h or more are possible for coastal areas of Massachusetts, and up to 80 km/h further inland, Oravec said.
5 biggest snowstorms at Central Park
- February 2006: 68.3 cm
- December 1947: 65.5 cm
- March 1888: 53.3 cm
- February 2010: 53 cm
- January 1996: 51.3 cm
Source: U.S. National Weather Service
Commuters urged to stay home
President Barack Obama, who is travelling in India, has been briefed on the storm, spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday. White House officials also have been in touch with officials from states "up and down the Eastern seaboard" that are in the storm's path, Earnest said.
A Weather Underground forecast for Jan. 26, 2015, shows a storm system expected to produce snow in the U.S. Northeast. Click on the image above to see more of the forecast. (Weather Underground/Associated Press)
A storm system driving out of the Midwest brought several centimetres of snow to Ohio on Sunday. A new low pressure system was expected to form off the Carolina coast and ultimately spread from Washington, D.C., to Maine for a "crippling and potentially historic blizzard," the weather service said.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged commuters to stay home on Monday and warned that mass transit and roadways could be closed before the evening rush hour, even major highways such as the New York Thruway, Interstate 84 and the Long Island Expressway.
In New York City, the Greater New York Taxi Association offered free cab service for emergency responders trying to get to work, and disabled and elderly residents who become stranded.
The New York Rangers decided to practice Monday afternoon at the Islanders' home arena on Long Island instead of at their own training facility just outside New York City. They'll stay overnight on Long Island for Tuesday's game against their rival — if it's still held.
The Super Bowl-bound New England Patriots expected to be out of town by the time the storm arrives in Boston. The team plans to leave Logan Airport at 12:30 p.m. ET Monday for Phoenix, where the temperature will reach 21 C.
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