Coastal New England continued to get walloped today by as much as two-and-a-half feet of snow as a massive Nor'easter blew through with blizzard conditions.
Snowfall totals were up to 32.5 inches in Auburn, Massachusetts, 30.5 inches in Thompson, Connecticut, 28.5 inches in Orient, New York, and 20.8 inches in Boston, with snow continuing to fall.
"I want to make it clear to everyone in Boston that we're still in the middle of a winter storm of historic proportions," Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said shortly after 3:30 p.m.
The city feared an additional six inches of snowfall, Walsh added, with snowy conditions expected late into the evening.
Travel bans and mass transit shutdowns remained in effect in the region, though they had been lifted in areas further south and west that were spared the worst of the storm.
Airlines were expected to begin flying at Boston’s Logan Airport Wednesday morning and to have full schedules back in place by Thursday, according to an airport official.
Nevertheless, Walsh recommended Boston-area residents continue to stay in their homes Wednesday, though he expected they would no longer be required to stay off the roads.
Michael Dwyer/AP Photo
PHOTO: A man walks on a portion of road cleared of sand washed up by ocean waves during a winter storm in the Humarock section of Scituate, Mass., Jan. 27, 2015.
Strong winds and coastal flooding were reported from the coastline of Long Island, New York, to Massachusetts. Wind gusts reached 60-75 mph.
Winter storm warnings continued from Long Island to Maine, and blizzard warnings from Rhode Island to Maine.
The storm's heaviest snow bands stayed north and east of New York City, leaving the nation's biggest metropolis at the lower end of the snow forecast. Snowfall at LaGuardia Airport, in the relatively heavy-hit eastern New York borough of Queens, stood at 11 inches.
Fearing the worst late Monday, officials shut down mass transit systems from New York City to Boston, and closed roads to traffic in all or parts of five states.
Thousands of flights were canceled because of the storm.
In all, seven states -- including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Rhode Island and New Hampshire -- declared states of emergency.
Michael Dwyer/AP Photo
PHOTO: U.S. Army soldier Jennifer Bruno carries some belongings from her house, center rear, that was heavily damaged by storm surge during a winter storm, Jan. 27, 2015, in Marshfield, Mass.
After a huge snowfall failed to materialize in some cases, officials in some Northeast cities and states lifted their travel bans today and defended their decision to impose them in the first place.
“My job as a leader is to make decisions, and I will always err on the side of safety or caution,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said. “To me, it was a no-brainer. We have to take precautions to keep people safe.”
Added National Weather Service Director Louis Uccellini, "As a result of these decisions and compliance from the public, we've seen far fewer storm related deaths, traffic accidents and traffic jams than previous winter storms of a similar nature."
With the storm still raging this morning in Connecticut and travel bans still in effect there, Gov. Dannel Malloy told reporters, "Under normal circumstances, we would have expected hundreds of accidents on or highway system. Last night, we had 11."
New York City announced it was reopening roads and restarting Staten Island ferry service as of 7:30 a.m., and later restarted subway service. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo lifted travel bans in Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Ulster, Westchester and Nassau counties, and said systems operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which includes the New York subway, began coming online by 9 a.m., with service reaching a Sunday level -- about 60 percent of a normal weekday -- by noon.
Bebeto Matthews/AP Photo
PHOTO: Pedestrians walk through wind-swept snow, Jan. 26, 2015, in Brooklyn, New York.
All Port Authority bridges and tunnels reopened, and PATH rail service was being restored. Cuomo this morning said drivers should expect delays because many roadways were still covered with snow.
"The roads are still dangerous. They are passable, but there is a level of ice under the snow in many areas," Cuomo said.
Gov. Chris Christie said New Jersey lifted its travel ban in all 21 counties.
This afternoon, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker lifted travel bans in the western counties of Berkshire, Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin, though a ban remained in effect for I-90, even in western Massachusetts.
Seth Wenig/AP Photo
PHOTO: Pedestrians make their way through snow in New York, Jan. 26, 2015.
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1zt28ou
0 comments:
Post a Comment