Nor'easter threatens East Coast with snow, high winds: LIVE UPDATES
As many as 10 states are in the path of a powerful nor'easter threatening to bombard residents with snow, high winds and coastal flooding Saturday as it moves up the East Coast
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A powerful nor'easter has left more than 100,000 people in the dark on Saturday afternoon as the snowstorm continues to impact the East Coast.
As of 3:30 p.m., 134,573 customers were without power in Massachusetts and New York State as a result of the nor'easter, according to power tracking service PowerOutage.us.
Massachusetts accounted for most of the power outages, with 123,231 customers without power, compared with 11,342 in New York.
According to Fox Weather, nearly 10 million people living on the East Coast were at risk of losing power in the historic storm.
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People leave a bus during a snow storm in Maverick Square, Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston. A powerful nor’easter is sweeping up the U.S. East Coast and threatening to bury parts of 10 states under deep snow accompanied by coastal flooding and high winds. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
As a powerful nor'easter brought heavy snow and whipping winds to residents of the East Coast on Saturday, some residents in Massachusetts already were without power.
Power outage tracker PowerOutage.US showed 117,886 without power in the early morning.
The state was under blizzard warnings and officials there declared states of emergency and instructed residents not to travel.
Massachusetts also banned heavy trucks from interstate highway for most of Saturday and the Boston area's transit agency said many buses would run only on snow routes.
According to Fox Weather, nearly 10 million people along the East Coast are at risk of losing electricity.
Officials at Eversource, which powers the Boston area, said extra personnel and equipment were being brought in from outside the region.
Snow covers the entrance of the subway station in the Bushwick section of the Brooklyn borough of New York on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022. People from New York City to Maine are awakening to deep snow and high winds as a powerful nor’easter kicks up blizzard conditions. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman)
According to Fox Weather, as of the late morning, 5 inches had already piled up on Long Island. Snowfall rates of 1-to-3 inches per hour were reportedly expected through the morning from the Delmarva Peninsula into much of New Jersey, New York City, Long Island and southern and eastern New England.
Photos taken in Uniondale, New York on Saturday showed cars showed cars stuck in the snow where Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman told WNBC that a snow plow operator had found an elderly woman dead in her car.
The woman's cause of death has not been officially confirmed, but he told the station that she had likely suffered a heart attack or other health event.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who had declared a state of emergency, said in a news briefing that the winter storm impacting the East Coast this weekend has "lingered."
She said the Empire State was dealing with what she called a "classic nor'easter."
"So, we're going to see some peaks now. It's continued to pick up on Long Island, as you know, Hudson Valley, as well as New York City," the governor explained. "But, it's high winds, heavy snow blizzard conditions."
Hochul also alerted that cold temperatures are where the "dangerousness sets in." "You cannot have people in their homes without heat for any length of time," she told reporters.
Nassau and Suffolk are "being hit the hardest," with 7-11 inches as of 9:30 a.m. EST.
New York City has 4 inches, with another 4-7 inches expected before "most of that should start abating [at] around 3 p.m."
The storm, she noted, should not be continuing into Sunday.
A pedestrian watches her footing while walking through snow drifts in India Point Park in Providence, R.I., Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022. A powerful nor'easter swept up the East Coast on Saturday, threatening to bury parts of 10 states under deep, furiously falling snow accompanied by coastal flooding and high winds that could cut power and leave people shivering in the cold weather expected to follow. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A winter storm lashed the northeastern U.S. on Saturday, with heavy snow and wind gusts near hurricane force, causing coastal flooding and threatening widespread power outages.
Parts of 10 states and some major population centers were pummeled by the storm.
A lone ambulance travels on an empty Interstate 195 in Providence, R.I., Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022. A powerful nor'easter swept up the East Coast on Saturday, threatening to bury parts of 10 states under deep, furiously falling snow accompanied by coastal flooding and high winds that could cut power and leave people shivering in the cold weather expected to follow. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A travel ban is now in place on all Rhode Island roads Saturday until 11:59 p.m. EST for tractor-trailers and motorcycles and until 8 p.m. for all other vehicles.
"Due to dangerous conditions, the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge, the Mount Hope Bridge, the Newport Pell Bridge and the Sakonnet River Bridge are closed until further notice. Emergency vehicles will still have access," Governor Dan McKee said in a tweet.
"Stay home, stay warm and stay safe," he added.
In a news briefing, McKee explained that his messaging was very similar to Friday's, with the state now experiencing snowfall between 1-3 inches per hour.
The leader said Rhode Island is expected to see between 18-24" by the end of storm, with the heaviest snows between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The Rhode Island State Police responded to 15 weather-related accidents between 11 p.m. Friday and 2 a.m. Saturday.
Images and videos posted to social media Saturday show the power of the winter storm on East Coast communities.
Massachusetts' Nantucket Police Department shared images that showing "significant flooding downtown in the Easy St. are"
"Easy St. is closed for the time bein," they wrote in a tweet. Winds gusted as high as 70 mph on Nantucket Island.
A Boston 25 reporter shared video showing "waves crashing over homes" in Scituate, with houses in the area "boarded up."
A reporter for 7 News posted more footage from the area, showing floodwaters rushing down roads.
In Newburyport, north of Boston, officials strongly encouraged residents to move to higher ground.
To the South, a Fox 61 morning reporter tweeted video of driving conditions in Hamden, Connecticut.
Photos out of New York City showed frosted streets, with cars nearly covered by powder.
In New Jersey, a reporter shared photos of a white Ocean City.
Fox Weather reported 9.9 million people were are blizzard warnings, 29 million are under winter storm warnings and 13.6 million are under winter weather advisories.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A man carefully walks down the snow covered subway stairs during a snow storm in Bushwick section of Brooklyn borough of New York on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, in New York. People from New York City to Maine are awakening to deep snow and high winds as a powerful nor’easter kicks up blizzard conditions. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman)
Thousands of flights were delayed or canceled Saturday due to the winter storm bearing down on the eastern U.S.
According to live tracker FlightAware, there were more than 3,000 total delays, including 256 within, into or out of the U.S.
Additionally, the website reported a total of more than 4,500 total cancellations, 3,507 were within, into or out of the country.
JetBlue Airways was shown to have the most number of canceled flights at 567, or 68%.
American Airlines had 463 – 18% –and Delta Air Lines had 461, or 19%.
Most cancellations were flying into or departing from New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Church caretaker Wilian Roberto Vasquez clears snow from the sidewalk around the church at the beginning of a major snow storm arrives, Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, in Somerville, Mass. A powerful nor'easter swept up the East Coast on Saturday, threatening to bury parts of 10 states under deep, furiously falling snow accompanied by coastal flooding and high winds that could cut power and leave people shivering in the cold weather expected to follow. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)
A powerful nor'easter moved up the East Coast on Saturday, with heavy snow, coastal flooding and high winds expected to impact 10 states.
Fox Weather reported that more than a foot of snow had already fallen along the Jersey Shore by the morning, with snowfall rates of 1 to 3 inches per hour expected from the Delmarva Peninsula into much of New Jersey, New York City, Long Island and southern and eastern New England.
Philadelphia, New York and Boston were forecast to see as much as 2 feet and airlines canceled thousands of flights.
Washington and Baltimore were forecast to be spared the worst of the snowfall, with only 1 to 3 inches and 5 inches, respectively.
In West Hartford, Connecticut, a tractor-trailer jacknifed on snow-slicked Interstate 84, closing several westbound lanes.
Officials from Virginia to Maine warned people against travel, amid potential whiteout conditions.
The worst of the storm was expected to blow by Sunday into Canada.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Boston could get more than two feet of snow this weekend in what could be the worst snow storm on record to hit the city.
Florida is expecting some of the lowest temperatures in four years with lows in the 20s and 30s in the central part of the state this weekend, according to FOX 35 in Orlando.
Wind Chill Advisories will be in effect in certain areas until 10 a.m. and Freeze Watches will be in effect overnight Saturday into Sunday (that could turn into Freeze Warnings) when the coldest weather is expected to move in.
now falls overnight in Charlotte as winter storm hits the southeast in Charlotte, NC, United States on January 28, 2022. (Photo by Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
More than 3,000 flights have been canceled along the East Coast, Amtrak service has been limited and residents were warned to stay off the road as whiteout conditions could make driving dangerous this weekend.
More than 10 million people were also under blizzard warnings Friday as snowfall was expected to pick up into Saturday.
“This is serious. We’re ready for this storm, and we also need Rhode Islanders to be ready,” Gov. Dan McKee said. “The best way to handle this storm is to stay home tomorrow.”
“Here’s what I’m asking New Yorkers: Just stay home,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a news conference Friday. “Just stay home, stock up on food, stock up on gas, stock up on your subscription to Netflix. I don’t want to see Long Island or New York state on the national news where everybody is jammed up on a highway for hours.”
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy echoed Hochul and McKee's words. “This one is a big one. We’re certainly hoping for the best but we are, without question, preparing for the worst," he said in a Friday press conference. “Our advice to everyone is to be prepared to hunker down after you get home tonight. Stay home ... get yourself stocked up.”
Parts of Massachusetts could get as much as 30 inches of snow and parts of 10 states were under blizzard warnings: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
Areas closest to the coast were expected to bear the brunt of the storm, which could bring wind gusts as high as 70 mph in New England.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Nor'easter arrives with heavy snow, near hurricane-force winds in Northeast
The New Jersey Transit Corporation has suspended all bus and river line services for Saturday due to the winter storm expected to hit the area.
According the announcement, train services will remain operational "for as long as conditions allow safe operation."
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