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northeast blizzard
The National Weather Service (NWS) has admitted its forecasts were wrong, after predicting a “potentially historic blizzard” would strike.
The storm piled deep snow on Connecticut and Massachusetts, but New York City was largely spared.
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, defended claims he had overreacted to warnings, saying he had only acted on the information available.
Blizzard warnings remain along the coast from Long Island to Maine.
“Rapidly deepening winter storms are very challenging to predict,” the NWS wrote on its Facebook page.
“The storm has moved further east and will be departing faster than our forecasts of the past two days.
“The result is much less snow than previously predicted for the western half of our region,” it added.
On January 26 an emergency was declared in a swathe of north-eastern states, and meteorologists predicted up to 36in of snow. Officials later downgraded the numbers.
The New York City authorities imposed a driving ban – since lifted – and took the unprecedented step of shutting the subway.
On January 27, New Yorkers awoke to a blanket of snow less deep than feared, and since then city life has been getting back to normal.
“Would you rather be prepared or unprepared? Would you rather be safe or unsafe?” said Bill de Blasio, defending the moves.
“My job as the leader is to make decisions and I will always err on the side of safety and caution.”
Other areas of New York state saw much heavier snowfall, with a teenage boy killed in a sledging accident on Long lsland.
Worst affected elsewhere were Connecticut and Massachusetts, which saw 20.5in and 26.2in respectively, compared to the 5.5in seen in New York’s Central Park.
Thousands of people are without power, mostly in Massachusetts. The state’s only nuclear power station shut down after the blizzard interrupted its power flow.
Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker said the snow had been “fluffier and lighter” than anticipated, meaning there were less power outages.
The NWS is still warning of potentially life-threatening conditions along the New England coast, as the storm heads north into Canada.
Meteorologists expect the snow and strong winds to continue throughout Tuesday, before weakening overnight.
Air travel remains disrupted, with more than 5,000 flights cancelled, according to flightaware.com.
Schools across the region are expected to remain closed until January 28, with public transport expected to be back to normal in New York by then too.
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NYC and other Northeast areas have shut down, with forecasters warning residents to expect “crippling” amounts of snow.
According to forecasters, Winter Storm Juno could dump up to 30ins in some parts of New Jersey, Maine and New Hampshire.
All non-emergency vehicles were banned in New York City from 23:00 on January 26 and subway services were suspended. Similar measures were in place in Boston, Massachusetts.
Some 60 million people may be affected.
An emergency has been declared in the states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Boston, which is forecast to receive some of the highest snowfalls, has also suspended public transport and car travel.
However, some meteorologists in Pennsylvania and New Jersey have downgraded their snowfall predictions, saying there has been less snowfall than initially forecast.
At least one winter storm warning in New Jersey has been canceled.
6,500 flights in and out of airports along the East Coast were cancelled and businesses and schools closed early on Monday, January 26.
Schools not expected to reopen before Wednesday, January 28, at the earliest.
Boston is expected to bear the brunt of the storm as the National Weather Service (NWS) warned that a “potentially historic blizzard” was approaching the north-east.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo warned residents against violating the driving ban in 13 southern counties of the state.
“If you are in your car and you are on any road, town, village, city, it doesn’t matter, after 11 o’clock, you will technically be committing a crime.
“It could be a matter of life and death so caution is required,” the governor said.
Echoing his words, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio urged residents to stay out of the way of the 2,300 snowploughs clearing city streets.
“You can’t underestimate this storm. What you are going to see in a few hours in something that is going to hit very hard and very fast.”
Similar bans for non-emergency vehicles were enacted in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
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Snow emergency has been declared in several US states as a storm bringing hurricane-force winds and 36ins of snow barrels down on the north-east.
Non-emergency vehicles have been banned on New York City’s 6,000 miles of roads after 23:00 local time.
“Recognize this as an emergency, this is not business as usual,” said NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Heavy snowfall is forecast from Philadelphia to Maine, falling up to four inches an hour in some areas.
New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts have declared states of emergency and a blizzard warning has been issued for an area inhabited by 20 million people.
5,000 flights in and out of airports along the East Coast cancelled.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo urged commuters to work from home on January 26. He also warned that public transport and major roads could close before evening rush hour.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said state offices would close at lunchtime.
Wind gusts of 75 mph or more are forecast for coastal areas of Massachusetts.
Hurricane-force winds of up to 80 mph (129km/h) will batter Cape Cod, the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, according to the National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts.
The heaviest snowfall will come in the early hours of Tuesday, with 15 inches expected between 01:00 and 05:00 local time, and 30 inches in total in parts of Massachusetts.
During a Monday afternoon press conference, Mayor Bill de Blasio urged residents to stay out of the way of the 2,300 snowploughs clearing city streets.
“You can’t underestimate this storm,” the city’s mayor said.
“What you are going to see in a few hours in something that is going to hit very hard and very fast.”
Similar bans for non-emergency vehicles will be in effect later this evening for the states of Connecticut and Massachusetts and would be likely in the rest of New York state.
At least 28 million people will face blizzard conditions over the next day and an estimated 50 million people could see more than a foot of snow in the storm.
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