NEW YORK – Light snow fell in New York City on Jan 6 as the first potent winter storm in more than a year moved up the United States’ East Coast, causing hundreds of weekend flights to be cancelled, and some trains to be halted.
About 2.5cm to 5cm of snow was set to fall in the city before changing to rain overnight, the National Weather Service said. Farther north and west of the city, snow totals will increase sharply.
“What we’re seeing, though, is a really statewide event,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a briefing. “Eight to 12 inches (20cm to 30cm) throughout two-thirds to possibly three-quarters of the state.”
The storm marks the potential end of a record snow drought in Philadelphia and New York City, said Mr Ashton Robinson Cook, a forecaster at the United States Weather Prediction Centre.
Until Jan 5, New York’s Central Park had gone 691 days without 2.5cm or more of snow, smashing the prior record of 383 days that ended on March 21, 1998, he added.
Philadelphia, where the storm is starting as snow, had gone 705 days until Jan 5 without 2.5cm or more of snow, besting its old record of 661 days set from 1972 to 1973.
“The streak is in jeopardy today,” Mr Robinson Cook said.
At least 332 flights have already been cancelled into and out of airports across the north-east US till Jan 7, including in Newark, Washington and Boston, according to tracking website FlightAware.
Amtrak has scrubbed passenger trains to Boston, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Roanoke, Virginia, as the storm moves north.
Boston will be the hardest hit of the East Coast cities, with 12cm to 30cm falling overnight.
To the west and north of Interstate 95, some 30cm to 45cm of snow may fall from western Maryland to upstate New York and into southern New England.
Near the coast, heavy wet snow and winds of up to 56kmh may knock down trees and power lines, leading to blackouts.
“Travel could be very difficult to impossible,” the weather service said. “If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency.”
While winter has been mild so far, in part due to the El Nino pattern in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, forecasters at the start of the season said there was a potential for a large snowstorm or two to strike.
The latest system will wind down early on Jan 7 in New York, with the potential for additional flurries.
In Boston, upstate New York and across New England, the heaviest snow will continue to Jan 7.
BLOOMBERG
