Potentially historic blizzard’ threatens Northeast, thousands of flights canceled
Potentially historic blizzard’ threatens Northeast, thousands of flights canceled, A “crippling and potentially historic blizzard” could impact a massive stretch of the Northeast early this week, the National Weather Service said, prompting thousands of flight cancellations and storm preparation from New Jersey to Maine.
New York City could see between two and three feet of snow, potentially historic totals that would be among the city’s biggest snowfalls on record.
“We are facing most likely one of the largest snow storms in the history of this city,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference Sunday.
The biggest snowfall to hit New York City — 26.9 inches, according to measurements in Central Park — fell over 16 hours on Feb. 11 and Feb. 12 in 2006, according to the city’s Office of Emergency Management.
Preparations were already underway across the Northeast, with much of the region under blizzard warnings from Monday afternoon on through Tuesday night. Angela Fritz of The Post’s Capital Weather Gang reports that “the worst impacts — heaviest snow, strongest winds – will hit between Monday night and Tuesday afternoon.”
And if snow totals live up to some of the severe forecasts, the impact will likely last far beyond that. The National Weather Service said in a bulletin Sunday that the snowfall could top 30 inches in some spots and lead to “life-threatening conditions and extremely dangerous travel.” This could cause severe problems for transportation, shutting down roads and arteries, as well as downed or damaged power lines across the region.
Even before the snow began to fell, airlines hurried to ground flights. More than 4,000 flights had already been canceled for Monday and Tuesday as of Monday at 8:30 a.m., according to the tracking site FlightAware.
Most of the cancellations Monday were for flights heading to and from New York, with Boston and Philadelphia also seeing scores of halted flights. Additional cancellations are expected to follow as the snowstorm hits and its full impact is felt. The effect could be felt across the country, as delays or cancellations at key hubs in the Northeast could impact travel throughout the air traffic system.
In response to the storm, airlines began offering to waive fees for rescheduling flights scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. United, Delta, Southwest, American Airlines and JetBlue all offered to relax the normal fees for airports from Washington to Maine, with the caveat that most of the tickets had to be changed so that travel occurred by Friday.
Officials across the Northeast preached caution and calm, stressing that their respective cities and states were ready for the storm but also asking people to stay off of the roads and be careful.
Subways, regional train lines and major roadways in New York City and across the state could be shut down due to the storm, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said.
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said that residents should prepare for power outages. Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh said in a statement Sunday that the city “has been through blizzards before and I am confident we are prepared.” He said the city had more than 35,000 tons of salt ready to treat the roads.
New Jersey’s Office of Emergency Management warned that travel would be difficult in the coming days. The Connecticut Department of Transportation planned to have its entire fleet of snow plows ready to respond to the storm, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy (D) said Sunday.
“Although storms can be unpredictable, this storm has the potential to have a significant impact on the state and we need to be prepared,” Malloy said in a statement.
The National Weather Service offered a sterner statement in its bulletin Sunday.
“Do not travel,” the bulletin said. “If you must travel…have a winter survival kit with you.”
New York City could see between two and three feet of snow, potentially historic totals that would be among the city’s biggest snowfalls on record.
“We are facing most likely one of the largest snow storms in the history of this city,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference Sunday.
The biggest snowfall to hit New York City — 26.9 inches, according to measurements in Central Park — fell over 16 hours on Feb. 11 and Feb. 12 in 2006, according to the city’s Office of Emergency Management.
Preparations were already underway across the Northeast, with much of the region under blizzard warnings from Monday afternoon on through Tuesday night. Angela Fritz of The Post’s Capital Weather Gang reports that “the worst impacts — heaviest snow, strongest winds – will hit between Monday night and Tuesday afternoon.”
And if snow totals live up to some of the severe forecasts, the impact will likely last far beyond that. The National Weather Service said in a bulletin Sunday that the snowfall could top 30 inches in some spots and lead to “life-threatening conditions and extremely dangerous travel.” This could cause severe problems for transportation, shutting down roads and arteries, as well as downed or damaged power lines across the region.
Even before the snow began to fell, airlines hurried to ground flights. More than 4,000 flights had already been canceled for Monday and Tuesday as of Monday at 8:30 a.m., according to the tracking site FlightAware.
Most of the cancellations Monday were for flights heading to and from New York, with Boston and Philadelphia also seeing scores of halted flights. Additional cancellations are expected to follow as the snowstorm hits and its full impact is felt. The effect could be felt across the country, as delays or cancellations at key hubs in the Northeast could impact travel throughout the air traffic system.
In response to the storm, airlines began offering to waive fees for rescheduling flights scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. United, Delta, Southwest, American Airlines and JetBlue all offered to relax the normal fees for airports from Washington to Maine, with the caveat that most of the tickets had to be changed so that travel occurred by Friday.
Officials across the Northeast preached caution and calm, stressing that their respective cities and states were ready for the storm but also asking people to stay off of the roads and be careful.
Subways, regional train lines and major roadways in New York City and across the state could be shut down due to the storm, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said.
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said that residents should prepare for power outages. Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh said in a statement Sunday that the city “has been through blizzards before and I am confident we are prepared.” He said the city had more than 35,000 tons of salt ready to treat the roads.
New Jersey’s Office of Emergency Management warned that travel would be difficult in the coming days. The Connecticut Department of Transportation planned to have its entire fleet of snow plows ready to respond to the storm, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy (D) said Sunday.
“Although storms can be unpredictable, this storm has the potential to have a significant impact on the state and we need to be prepared,” Malloy said in a statement.
The National Weather Service offered a sterner statement in its bulletin Sunday.
“Do not travel,” the bulletin said. “If you must travel…have a winter survival kit with you.”