NYC May See 8 Inches of Snow, Boston 12 in New Storm
Manhattan May Receive 6 Inches of Snow, Boston a Foot
Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images
Today’s storm will be the seventh this month to leave more than an inch or more of snow in Central Park, according to weather service data.
Today’s storm will be the seventh this month to leave more than an inch or more of snow in Central Park, according to weather service data. Photographer: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images
The first round of a two-part storm dropped snow across the northeastern U.S. today, and forecasters said the New York and Boston areas may be digging out from under 8 inches or more by tomorrow’s morning commute.
Almost 1,500 flights in the Northeast were grounded as of 4 p.m. Eastern time. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino issued emergency declarations urging people to stay off the roads.
The snow, which tapered off after 1 p.m. in New York, was part of the first wave of a larger storm, said John Murray, a weather service meteorologist in Upton, New York. New York may receive 8 inches (20 centimeters) and Boston as many as 12 before it ends, the agency said.
“A band of heavy to moderate snow has formed well out ahead of the developing low that is off the Carolina coast,” Murray said. “We’re still looking for another round tonight.”
Today’s storm was the seventh this month to leave at least an inch of snow in Central Park, according to National Weather Service data. Two to 3 inches fell across parts of New Jersey and the northern suburbs.
The second round will begin later today. The weather service posted a winter storm warning that expires at 6 a.m. tomorrow.
Warnings Posted
Storm warnings extend from Massachusetts to the mountains of western Virginia and eastern Kentucky, according to the weather service. Federal employees in Washington were told they could leave two hours early.
Newark Liberty International reported delays for some arriving flights of more than five hours, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
United Continental Holdings Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc., JetBlue Airways Corp., AMR Corp.’s American Airlines and other large carriers scrubbed about 1,480 flights today and have canceled at least 310 for tomorrow, company spokesmen said.
There have been eight major snow events in the U.S. already this winter, Christopher Hedge, a forecaster with the U.S. Hydrological Prediction Center, said in a presentation at the 91st meeting of the American Meteorological Society in Seattle yesterday.
Cities Cope
Bloomberg told reporters in New York today that the city has gone through 252,543 tons of salt, and has 109,714 tons still on hand. The mayor is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.
Boston has had 50 inches of snow in the past 30 days, Menino said in an e-mailed statement.
On Jan. 12, every state except Florida had snow cover, including mountains in Hawaii. The last four winters have seen above-average snow cover in North America, Hedge said.
Part of the reason for the increased severity in winter is a difference in pressure at the highest latitudes known as the Arctic Oscillation, said Nancy Soreide, a researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
High pressure over the pole and low pressure at mid- latitudes, known as a negative phase of the oscillation, result in warmer air rushing north and colder air moving south, according to a National Snow and Ice Data Center definition.
In the past two years, that pressure differential has meant temperatures 9 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal have been recorded at the North Pole and across Canada, while temperatures across the U.S. as a whole have been 9 degrees below normal, Soreide said at the Meteorological Society meeting.
To contact the reporter on this story: Brian K. Sullivan in Seattle at bsullivan10@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net
Rate this Page