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Subscribe to RSSUpdated at 4:20 a.m. ET: A powerful winter storm pounded the Northeast Saturday, with gusting winds and heavy snow causing power failures for hundreds of thousands of people, dozens of accidents and fuel shortages at gas stations.
At least one death was confirmed, a snow-related car accident in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
By 4:20 a.m. ET Saturday, 26 inches of snow had fallen at Hamden, Conn., with 22.4 inches at Upton, N.Y., and 15.3 in Portland, Maine, weather.com reported. New York City's Central park had 6.3 inches.
Blizzard warnings were issued for the New York City metro area, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, coastal New Hampshire and coastal Maine, weather.com added.
Forecasters said they expected Massachusetts to get the most snowfall, with an accumulation of up to 3 feet in some spots. The worst snowfall on record in Boston was a 27.5-inch blast a decade ago.
Coastal residents were warned that the winds could top 70 mph. Those living on north- and east-facing shorelines from Boston south to Cape Cod Bay were told to prepare for tides 2 to 4 feet above normal.
"Coastal flooding is expected on the Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts coastlines," the National Weather Service said.
"I'm really nervous," Kathy Niznansky, a 65-year-old teacher in coastal Fairfield, Conn. told The Associated Press. Niznansky is still recovering from flooding from Superstorm Sandy which arrived on her birthday and knocked her out of her house near the beach for two months. "Now I'm really worried about this tide tonight. I just don't want any more flooding."
In Massachusetts, gusts over 50 mph were reported in Boston and over 60 mph on Nantucket Island. Winds up to 75 mph were possible in Provincetown, forecasters said.
Police said hundreds of cars were stuck on the Long Island Expressway, NBC weatherman Al Roker said in a message on Twitter.
The winter storm gathered strength as two weather systems — a so-called clipper pattern sweeping across the Midwest and a band of rain from the South — converged over the Northeast early Friday.
By late Friday, the storm had arrived in earnest and was expected to pummel New England through Saturday and last as long as Sunday farther north.
Governors of New York, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island declared states of emergency.
More than 800 National Guard soldiers and airmen were activated in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York to provide roadway support, emergency transportation and back-up for first responders, the Department of Defense said Friday evening, while governors in the region warned people to get home and be prepared for power outages.
Airlines canceled more than 3,000 flights on Friday, Boston closed its subway, Amtrak suspended some service, and cities across the Northeast prepared to deploy an armada of snowplows and salt-spreading trucks.
More than half a million people were without power, including a whopping 389,000 customers in Massachusetts, 177,000 in Rhode Island and 35,000 in Connecticut, and more power failures were expected overnight.
For people in the blizzard’s path, forecasters and authorities had a clear message: Stay home.
Driving bans
Governors in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts announced restrictions on driving.
In the most sweeping ban, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick ordered all non-essential vehicles off the roads by 4 p.m. and said people should brace to be snowed in for two days. He said the storm was "profoundly different" from others the state has endured in recent years.
Gov. Dannel Malloy of Connecticut banned car traffic on limited-access highways starting at 4 p.m. State police reported nearly 100 minor accidents across the state by Friday afternoon.
"If you don't currently have a reason to be on the road, if you're not an emergency personnel that's required to report to work somewhere, stay home," Malloy said at a state armory news conference. "This is it. Things are starting to accumulate."
In the Poughkeepsie, N.Y. crash, a car driven by an 18-year-old female went out of control in the snow and struck Muril M. Hancock, 74, who was walking near the shoulder, police said. Hancock died from his injuries at the hospital.
The eastern part of Connecticut was experiencing white-out conditions late into the evening, the state's emergency operations center reported, and even snowplows were immobilized because of the weather.
Several motorists were reported stranded on snowed-in highways and interstates, but no injuries had been reported. Still, emergency crews were unable to respond due to the severe conditions.
A 19-car pileup on Interstate 295 in Falmouth, Maine, was blamed on the storm. Police said there were minor injuries.
Elsewhere, Rhode Island police asked people for loaner snowmobiles, and out-of-state utility crews headed for Connecticut to help.
Full coverage from The Weather Channel
Watch live video of the Northeast blizzard
Sandy survivors: It's like a repeat 'nightmare'
Airline cancellations piled up all morning. Almost 3,000 flights were scrapped for Friday and more than 1,000 more for Saturday, according to FlightAware.com.
At the major airports in New York and New England, most major airlines said they would shut down completely Friday afternoon.
Schools were closed in Boston and for most of New England on Friday. Patrick ordered non-essential state workers to stay home Friday and encouraged private employers to do the same.
In New York, the transit agency added more than 20 afternoon trains on its Metro-North commuter line from Grand Central Terminal to get people out of the city before the worst hit.
The Metro-North suspended service Friday night due to the storm. The Long Island Rail Road shut down service east of Speonk about 9 p.m.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned people to stay in and to use public transportation if they had to go out, although even that carried the possibility of disruptions. The city had 250,000 tons of salt at the ready for the roads.
He encouraged New Yorkers to stay in and cook a meal or read a good book.
"This is a very serious storm, and we should treat it that way," said Tom Prendergast, president of the agency that runs New York subways and buses.
The weather service warned that the combination of heavy snow and high winds would limit visibility and cause whiteout conditions at times.
"Those venturing outdoors may become lost or disoriented," the weather service said in an advisory issued for the Boston area.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related:
The Weather Channel live stream
State-by-state impact of the storm
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I guess next week all the Naw Yawnkers will be wanting another bail out. You just got one so get over it!
Boo: I don't mind bailing out people who need bailing out. As far as the GOP holdouts against approving Sandy aid in the House of Reps. are concerned, 37 who balked had pushed for Federal emergency aid for their own districts. Red states actually get "bailed out" every day, since the blue states' tax dollars are propping them up.
You wont have to wait until next week. The mayor of New York already called a state of emergency and is asking for 60 million. There is not way he could have accessed the damage already. Just another money grab by another Liberal Democrat on the backs of the tax payers!
Hi Pragmatic: I remember '78 well and this one could turn out to be bigger. That one too came at a high tide with hurricane force winds. Just perfect set of conditions for a "Monster". Biggest differences are that too many idiots ignored the warnings and got caught in the brunt of it and cities and towns didn't prepare as well. It (78) also came with a much smaller snow emergency policy budget. Now we have FEMA and Mass has MEMA and have learned to err on the side of caution. Power companies are (allegedly) better prepared for outages, but the greater the blizzard conditions the slower the process is. I'm sitting and watching the news and it looks like NE Mass will get hit with 24"+. I'm in Nashua and it looks like a nice little storm. Might get 12". But now I'm seeing the lights flicker and that worries me because PSNH sucks when dealing with emergencies. Last time we were out for 5 days and this is considered a major city and I'm right downtown. Ah well, let's hope this so-called over reaction results in less hardships and will be something we'll look back on fondly, knowing that will be impossible for a lot of people. Thank God it's a weekend. Praying all stay safe and warm. Please pray for the homeless.
I live in central TX. When we last had snow, maybe two inches, everything STOPPED!
HEY! This old Yankee wont' be asking for any bailout after this little storm!
But you are welcome to come help shovel us out here!
You know you will be asking for a bailout. Quit with the empty promises.
Not my kind here.
Why does anyone live in the Northeast anyway? It's freezing in the winter and hot and humid in the summer. MOVE.
I want to get the hell out of here these days. Got any advice for a better place?
Southern California.
So Cal... figures...
You guys have all that falling into the ocean thing out there though...
I still love my raisins though...
I live in the NE, and I'm disinclined to join the flight to Florida and other locales. I love and savor the change of seasons. When it's cold and/or snowy, I always have my long-johns and down parka on, with gloves at the ready; as a bus commuter, one always has to be ready for unexpectedly long waits in the cold. Besides, I like the fact that the snow, etc., often obliges us to forego the artificially-imposed "busyness" of everyday life. It keeps us as humans from getting too big for our britches.
But if as many say we humans are actually a part of "God" who decides what is too big?
pats: I'll plead ignorance as to "God" and his alleged workings. Whether we're part of God or not I also can't say, but it seems obvious that we don't have the powers ascribed to Him/Her. Not much else makes that clearer than a big-ass snowstorm.
Is this the weatherchannel.com or msnbc? I think I came to the wrong site...
Was looking for news. Not a weather update about some obscure portion of the US.
This is a "weather" article here you are posting on.
As much as I may battle NBC these days, this is a article about the storm I am living right now.
we live where we live we we know the weather it can bring... wherever u r be prepared like out parents did!
Lay off the Media. You people that OVERLY criticize the media and probably criticize everything are the ones stupid enough not to listen & be stuck out in it. It is a big storm and therefore a big story & big deal for some. And go ahead and laugh & scoff at me here in San Diego because it is 10 degrees colder and windier than usual and I am sweating in my parka.
I also lived in the Seattle area & the snow there gets twice as deep & the wind more fierce a lot more often and I've been stuck on a ski lift for several hours due to an unpredictable blizzard.
Some people are new to areas like this and may be ignorant Not Stupid to the new conditions.
The article said nothing about doomsday but we can't help but think what the people still suffering from the most latest disaster might think of it.
What really is the biggest disaster here are the Negative, Snickering, Stupid Ass insensitive remarks calling others as such.
I hope those of you that do so realize that you are doing nothing but curse yourself and you will probably die doing something stupid. But that is OK, I am sure eventually no one will eventually stick around you to much to care about such an insignificant loss anyways.
God Bless the New England and the good people here today.
In the Blizzard of 78, I hiked down to the National Guard Armory in Worcester to be one of the first guardsman to report. There was alot of work to ready a small fleet and answer the call to duty. I gladly helped to refuel every available jerry can to fill up with fuel. I even saved the day when a "new" Dodge M880 series truck wouldn't start. The deep snow knocked the starter safety switch cable of the lower end of the auto-trans 4WD. Even rode a snowmobile down Lincoln St. back up to Lincoln Village.
Best advice? Stay home! Check in on your neighbors. No generators in the house! Are you wishing you had some deep cycle marine batteries and a heavy duty inverter? Maybe a good home made shop drop light hooked up to a car battery and a 12 volt camper bulb (about $1.00) add small jumpers to clamp on your extra battery. Don't kill it! Check the voltage with a little meter. recharge in vehicle if you must...
Yup.....
OK...
I'm in Connecticut right now. I lived through the blizzard of 78.
I opened my door once again and didnt even bother to measure the snow, but just said WTF.
I never got a "bailout" in 78. I'll survive this without any bailouts too.
A big snow storm is the least of the problems we face surviving these days...
I live coastal ME, 1hr. north of Portland - 1 mile from ocean. So sick and tired of hearing how we can't take it. I went to work this AM at 7 - snowing. Left at 4 - snowing. Treated it just like any other day. Not asking for applause.
I am well prepared - did not go to the grocery and raid the shelves, did not whine, just filled up the water bottles in case. It was just another day here. We have done this before. Many times. Grew up in CT - lived in FL - came back to the northeast because we missed the seasons - that is why we live here. In addition - I can leave my car unlocked at work all day long right on route 1 - it is the safest, friendliest place you could want. Break down here - guarantee someone will stop and ask if you need help within 5 mins. Find that in some other places. And we stop for people at crosswalks too!!
Have already cleared 7 inches off the front porch. Now it is really coming down - at least an inch an hour - and the wind is going good. Another 3 inches out there - but moving it now just blows it back, so done till the AM.
It will suck tomorrow with the clearing of snow, but hey - as I said not a new thing.
So, for all of you trashing us for not being able to deal. PLEASE! Go away - far away. It is the Weather Channel and Today show hyping it up. Our local channels are not doing that. Don't trash us for their drama needs.
So esp. Annie ##### person and OVUgirl - get over. My "fat ass" has already been out there three times shoveling. And I have never asked for any type of aid.
Welcome to Maine - love it!!!!!!!!
Glad you nasty people are not here.
I always loved Maine people. I have friends there.
We are planning on making a big pot of venison chili to go along with the shoveling here...
If this would have happened in Montana there would only be around 50 people without power.
I thought Montana only had a population of 29 people. It must be a growth boom!!!!
Yes, this is winter and we expect snow storms as well as we expect storms though the year, but the storms in recent years have been deliberately escalated by Weather Scientists who use Chem-Trails and such to make the storms more powerful and detructive.
The media is doing their job!! I am sorry that some of you think they are exaggerating but we typically do not get 19 inches if snow per year in one night on Long Island.
And they are doing this for one reason only. To protect all of us stupid humans from being "humans". We are given cars to drive with specific and mandated speed limits to keep us safe. Yet, on a daily basis, we ignore this and end up hospitalized or worse. We are told cigarettes cause Cancer, yet, you idiots smoke like chimneys and 30 years later sit back and wonder why your throat hurts and you are losing your vision.
Hurricaine Sandy was reported for up to a week and look what happened. Morons still stayed behind and watched TV as if a light spring shower was falling.
So YES, the meteorologist are justified in over-exploiting this storm just to give it soooo much coverage that it sinks into the heads of you idiots that these conditions are treacherous enough to warrant you staying your ridiculous as*es home (but I already heard there was a 40 car pile-up in the Northeast. So apparently, stupidity wins again)
I strongly feel for those riding out any form of storm past, present, and future.
Sadly, many feel going out in snow storms a norm.. those used to it. Not all areas
experience similarity in weather. Higher into the mountains, I'm sure the more snow
you will find.
With such high winds, yes the drifts will be pretty difficult to drive through. With
such warnings given out prior, many should choose to listen and realize all it takes
is one wrong move driving into/through bad weather... one verified death already.
As for power outages, please open your minds, research and discover the fact power
inverters are on the market operating off battery power.. not all too expensve and a
far cry better than using petrol/fuel generators.
A number of marine batteries in series, connected to a DC to AC inverter can be used
to power your refrigerator and at least a light with possibly a small heater... just need
adequate size inverter ( 5,000 W inverters are on the market ).
As I suggested to those protesting in N.Y when their generators were confiscated, use
the technology from the automobile that powers the electricity ( usually 60 to 80 amp
alternator connected to keep the battery charged... ) with a 3,000 rpm motor that may
be plugged into that 5k inverter to spin the alternator to charge a battery.
Wild as it may seem, it could possibly save a life ( if not simply what food you might
have in the refrigerator ) especially if it can provide electric to a heater to help keep warm.
12V DC marine batteries in series, powering 12v DC to 110V AC invertor, powering a 3,000 +
rpm motor, driving an alternator putting juice back into the batteries... it just might hold
one over long enough for the power company to restore power anyhow.
Could go one further an add the current solar cells sold at radioshack ( 6v cells I recall ).
Connect those in series with the marine batteries.. just think it through, do a bit of research
and you'll see it can work if even only for a short period.... that short period you'll have to
wait for usual electricity to be restored.
Have I tried this? Sure thing, kept the refigerator going all night, had a light on with everyone
wanting to know how since no one else did... lost electric for six to eight hours in 2009.
Look up W=VA also ( Energy - Wattage = Volts X Amps ) also. Just don't draw more watts
than the system can handle an you'll be fine.
makes ya long for those summer days...
Has anyone connected the dots?
Legalized homosexuality : New England States : Catastrophe !!!
WAKE UP AMERICA
yeah... it didn't snow a drop in San Francisco...did you Dot that down..
No big thing really just winter
exactly ...just a big ole snow storm...
Be Strong people, you'll get thru this. kinda like stephen kings storm of the century.
May the Soul of the Deceased Rest in Peace. May there be NO further loss of lives. May there be NO further damage in Infrastructure and Houses. May God give the strenght and courage to the Affected Americans to Rebuild their lives and Houses and Infrastructure. Since the Storm is powerful suggest to the Americans to be prepared and stock all essentials in the houses and remain indoors still the storm is passed. May the Storm pass away quickly. GOD Bless the Americans. GOD BLESS THE USA.
Kevin Valentine Moraes
Mira Road (Thane)
Damn, I wonder how those Canadians make it through this kind of weather all winter long...
Hate to point out the obvious at a time like this but this is exactly why the left had to "change" from GLOBAL WARMING to CLIMATE CHANGE. Global warming was so exclusionary, and became a "hard sell", when the Al Gore medicine show came to town.
Even the most "hard core environmentalist wacko", found the "medicine" hard to swallow, when Al Gore was "preaching" that the planet was "warming" when a blizzard blew into town.
So not to be fazed by "obvious facts" and the possibility of the LOSS of TAXING every living person on the planet, who exhaled "evil carbon dioxide" with every breath, "I know lets call it climate change", that way no matter what the weather is doing, raining, snowing, sunshine........ its changed, "we can't loose!".
When I lived in the Pacific Northwest as a child, in the early 70's(that's over 30 years ago) we had one winter blizzard that blew 6 foot snow drifts, we could actually walk over fences between houses!
We "normally have rain in this part of the country, so I guess that's change! Dammit if I could of pick up on that back then, and sold the "theory"(crap) like Al Gore, I could have been a billionaire too!
Well, you snooze, you loose!........though my problem was, I did not think people were stupid enough to buy into a load of CRAP like that, to much faith in the intelligence of my fellow man..............dammit!
Lot of comments here. Would like to know how people in the storm are experiencing it. Vote here. So how bad is the storm really?
8degree forecast tonight.... No heat...no electricity...tree limbs snapped power lines and telephone lines.
Snarky comments...not appreciated....especially after a long day of shoveling....
Candle power nice..but not exactly heat throwing.
how much insensibility in this posts....life itself is a hell of a storm.....
can't stand such stupidity....wonder what will it be in 50 more years???.....
Glad I won't be here to find out.....That would make me 110, and I already think people are just plain mean and disrespectful.
Its snowing so the Liberal democrat weenie mayor of New York calls for a state of emergency. What a freaking scumbag whip trying to rob the tax payers some more!