BOSTON --A strong winter storm pounding the Northeast with stiff
winds and punishing cold dumped nearly 2 feet of snow in parts of the region on
Thursday and threatened more.
The National Weather Service said 21 inches of snow had
fallen in Boxford, just north of Boston, by Thursday night. It said parts of
upstate New York had 18 inches.
The brutal weather extended Christmas break for somestudents while posing the first test for New York's new mayor and perhaps thelast challenge for Boston's outgoing one.Some schools in New England and New York closed well ahead of the snow, while cities mobilized plows and salt spreaders, and state offices sent workers home early. Some major highways were ordered closed and in suburban Philadelphia, a massive salt pile fell on a worker and crushed him. U.S. airlines canceled more than 2,300 flights nationwide on Thursday in advance of the storm.
The heavy weather
began rolling just a day after New York Mayor Bill de Blasiowas sworn in to lead the nation's largest city and days before Boston Mayor Thomas Menino
ends 20 years in office.
Menino announced a parking ban and said schools would be closed Friday in Boston, where up to 14 inches of snow was expected. Boston's airport said it would not handle any flights after 8:30 p.m. Thursday.
"What a New Year's gift, to
receive one last snowstorm as mayor," said Menino, whose successor takes
office Monday.
De Blasio, who as public advocate in 2010 criticized predecessor Mayor Michael Bloomberg for his handling of a post-Christmas storm, said hundreds of plows and salt spreaders would be on the streets as soon as the snow started falling Thursday night.
"We have to get it right, no question about it," de Blasio said. "We are focused like a laser on protecting this city and getting everyone ready. We have all hands on deck."
Snow began falling overnight Wednesdayin parts of New England and New York, but the brunt of the storm wasn'texpected until late Thursday. Forecasters said temperatures would plummet, withsome areas seeing highs just above zero and wind-chill readings of minus-10 andcolder.
The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning forCape Cod and Long Island - where 8 to 10 inches of snow could fall and windscould gust up to 45 mph - from Thursday evening into Friday afternoon.
"We're going to see a lot of snow
and a lot of wind," forecaster Jason Tuell said. "We're concerned
about whiteout conditions possibly tonight with the blowing and drifting
snow."
In Massachusetts, the Governor sent state workers homeearly, and the National Guard was activated.
Ten to 14 inches of snow are
expected overnight.Gusts will reach 50 miles per hour along Cape Cod, with wind chills making it feel 10 to 15 below zero.
More than two thousand plows and salt trucks were already
on the roads statewide by Thursday evening.
"We've been going pretty strong since midnight last
night - and the 'best' is yet to
come," said one driver, Ed Gillen.
High tides at midnight and noon tomorrow could produce
major flooding. A just-completed $700,000 seawall in the town of Scituate is
already being tested by 35-mile-an-hour winds pushing seawater towards shore.
Douglass Bibule shopped for rock salt
and other supplies at a home improvement store in Watertown, Mass.
"Well, there will be some
shoveling that I will have to do and some sanding. I've got to go home and do
some stretching exercises to make sure I don't hurt myself while doing that,
and do a little shopping to make sure that we have all the supplies that we need.
We need food because we have three older children at home."
Efforts were under way to get homeless
people off the streets of Boston and New York City and into the safety of
shelters Thursday evening. Outreach teams in New York were looking for people
who needed beds in shelters.
In Boston, staff members at the Pine
Street Inn were keeping the shelter open 24-hours and said they would turn no
one away, even if it meant setting up extra cots in lobbies and other common
areas.
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New York's Long Island is one of most densely populated
places in the country, with more people than in 15 states. It is expecting a foot of snow, with whiteout conditions.
The Long Island Expressway, its most
important transportation artery, will be closed at midnight to make way for a
fleet of plows. It is a drastic step to take for one of the busiest
highways in America, but last year hundreds of motorists were stranded by a
storm that dumped nearly 3 feet of snow. Many spent the night in their cars. In
Brookhaven, New York, some residents were snowbound for days.
"Once the storm really starts to crank up this will
turn into a plow operation," said Dan Losquandro, Brookhaven's highway
superintendent. "We will be pushing all that snow off the roadways and
then we will be salting and sanding sometimes tomorrow once we get those
roadways clear."
New York's governor has also ordered Interstate 87
between Albany and New York City closed, as well as the stretch of Interstate
84 in New York.
A
decision to reopen the roads will be made before dawn.
Sections of interior southern New
England and New York state could get up to a foot of snow. New York City was
expecting 8 inches, while Philadelphia could see 3 to 7.
In New York, Con Ed spokesman Sidney https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC809d2CE2c_GO-ePkXRizbA
