Northeast braces for wind, wet snow and power failures
In New Hampshire, where heavy, wet snow was expected to fall over the southern half of the state, more than 50 towns postponed municipal elections that had been scheduled for Tuesday, according to the secretary of state’s office.
A major late-winter storm that brought rain to the Northeast on Monday was expected to intensify overnight with heavy, wet snow and strong winds that could cause widespread power failures, disrupt travel and flood coastal communities, forecasters said.
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The storm, which was expected to strengthen into a nor’easter and last through Wednesday, could unload 6 to 18 inches of snow across more than seven states, from northeast Pennsylvania and far northwest New Jersey through much of New York and New England, the National Weather Service said. Some areas could receive more than 2 feet of snow.
New York City was expecting far less — up to 2 inches of snow, although there was a slight chance it could receive more if the forecast was off.
Elsewhere, the wet, heavy snow, combined with wind gusts of up to 60 mph, could bring down tree branches and power lines, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, authorities said.
Widespread minor coastal flooding and beach erosion were also possible, the weather service said. The storm will grow stronger around 10 p.m. Monday and last into Tuesday before it inches away from the New England coast Wednesday, the weather service said.
Communities in higher elevations were expected to get the most snow, with heavy rain and light snow in the New York-New Jersey metro area, Long Island and southeastern Connecticut.
In New Hampshire, where heavy, wet snow was expected to fall over the southern half of the state, more than 50 towns postponed municipal elections that had been scheduled for Tuesday, according to the secretary of state’s office.
In Worcester, Massachusetts, which was bracing for up to 18 inches of snow, officials announced that schools would be closed Tuesday, one of many such cancellations expected across the Northeast. In Maine, officials said that state offices would be closed Tuesday, as authorities urged residents to stay off the roads.
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York declared a state of emergency that began at 8 p.m. Monday, allowing the state to deploy additional resources.
Hochul warned that the wet snow was going to “come down like a brick” — by as much as 3 inches an hour in some areas — making travel treacherous, if not impossible.
“This will be a dangerous storm,” Hochul said. “Please stay off the roads for your own safety. Stay in your homes.”
Hochul said 100 National Guard troops had been mobilized to respond to emergencies and that additional utility crews had been called in, including some from Canada.
“It’s going to be one where we’re going to see serious loss of power,” Hochul said. “That is a statement of fact.”
The weather service said 12-18 inches of snow could blanket Albany and that 8 to 12 inches could fall in Binghamton, Ithaca and Syracuse in New York.
Boston was preparing for at least 4 inches of snow and wind gusts of up to 55 mph. Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston said that the city had asked construction companies to secure cranes and other heavy equipment.
Jon Mitchell, mayor of New Bedford, Massachusetts, a port city about 60 miles south of Boston, said crews were clearing catch basins to prevent rain and snow from pooling.
“The big issue, really, is the risk of flooding for us — and the wind gusts,” he said in an interview.
Gov. Philip Murphy of New Jersey said that state offices would open two hours later than normal Tuesday and that some communities in the northwestern part of the state could receive 1 foot of snow. He declared a state of emergency that began at 8 p.m. Monday for Warren, Sussex, Morris, Passaic and Bergen counties.
“Please, please, please be careful,” Murphy said at a news conference Monday. “If you don’t have to go out, don’t go out.”
Craig Hallstrom, regional president of electric operations for Eversource, a utility that serves Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, said that the storm was “so big” that it could stretch resources across the region.
He said the utility was closely tracking the rain-snow line and was particularly concerned that wind gusts of 40 mph were expected across Massachusetts, with even stronger gusts along the coast.
Hallstrom said Eversource had called in hundreds of additional workers from other states.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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