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Winter storm set to bring foot of snow and disrupt travel in north-east US Winter storm set to bring foot of snow and disrupt travel in north-east US
(about 2 hours later)
Light snow was falling on Thursday in parts of the north-eastern US, as a winter storm bore down on the region, promising significant snowfall, strong winds and frigid temperatures that will make commutes hazardous for the first work day of the new year. New York City, Boston and cities across the north-eastern US are bracing for a severe storm on Thursday and Friday, with weather warnings affecting more than 100 million people.
Snow began falling overnight in parts of New England and New York, but the real brunt of the storm wasn't expected to hit until later Thursday. As much as a foot of snow or more was forecast for some areas overnight Thursday into Friday, and temperatures were expected to plummet, with some areas seeing highs just above zero, according to the National Weather Service. The storm is expected to move across more than a dozen states, from the mid-west into the north-east. More than a foot of snow is forecast for the Boston area, while blizzard conditions are expected in New York. Heavy snow and strong winds are expected across the north-east through Thursday evening and into Friday. The National Weather Service warned that bitter cold will move in following the storms, as it forecast temperatures 20 to 30F below normal.
"There will be travel problems," said Hugh Johnson, a weather service meteorologist in Albany, New York. "It will be very cold." Weather advisories have been put in place from Chicago eastward, with winter storm warnings in effect in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina, West Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine on Thursday.
Up to 14in of snow is forecast for the Boston area and the National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for Long Island – where 8-10in of snow could fall and winds could gust up to 45mph – from Thursday evening into Friday afternoon. The NWS said the heaviest snow would fall from central New York to the Massachusetts coast. Up to 14in of snow was forecast for Boston, and a blizzard warning was in effect to the south of the city.
Some schools in New England and New York closed pre-emptively or planned early dismissals, while cities issued on-street parking bans and homeless shelters were expected to fill beyond capacity. At least 8in of snow is expected across most of Massachusetts, the NWS said. It warned that the region would be hit by "dangerously low wind chills" and said residents should ensure they had warm clothing and sufficient heating fuel should they become isolated.
The storm dropped up to a foot of snow on parts of Michigan and 6in or more in Illinois, prompting hundreds of flight cancellations on Wednesday into and out of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, according to the aviation tracking website FlightAware.com. About 1,000 US flights were canceled for Thursday, with O'Hare and New Jersey's Newark Liberty International most affected. As much as 10in is predicted to fall in New York City, where the storm will be an early test of new mayor Bill de Blasio's leadership. De Blasio, who was sworn in as mayor in New Year's Day, has promised that the city will be prepared.
Authorities said the weather may have been a factor in a fatal crash Wednesday evening involving a pickup and a bus carrying casino patrons in Indiana. Police said the truck's driver was killed and 15 bus passengers were injured in the collision on a snow-covered and slushy highway in Rolling Prairie. “Something like a snowstorm, I take very personally. I can see it, I can feel it, I can touch it, it’s not an abstraction,” De Blasio said on Tuesday. “We are 100% ready.”
Sections of interior southern New England and New York could get up to a foot of snow by the time the storm moves out, with forecasts generally calling for 6-12in. New York City, likely to see 3-7in, issued a snow alert. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo urged the city's commuters to leave their cars at home in case major highways are closed for Thursday's evening rush hour. In 2010, De Blasio was among those who criticised then-mayor Michael Bloomberg, amid accusations that the city was under-prepared for a huge dump of snow. It took days for streets to be cleared in some parts of New York and Bloomberg was accused of prioritising clearing Manhattan, over other boroughs. 
"We are looking at a serious storm situation," Cuomo said. The NWS warned that travel would be difficult between New York and Boston, due to the storm.
Although lesser amounts of snow were forecast to the south, Philadelphia and parts of southern New Jersey were expected to see 3-7in of blowing, drifting snow.
In Toms River, New Jersey, Jonas Caldwell said he was prepared for whatever the storm might bring. "Santa brought me a snow blower, and I've got rock salt for the ice, so now I'm just waiting for the storm," he said while grabbing a coffee at a convenience store.
Caldwell, an investment adviser, said he could work from home if necessary, but he was hoping that wouldn't be the case. "There are too many distractions at home," he said. "But I won't be stupid … If it gets as bad as they say it will be, or looks like it will, I'll be staying put."
In Hartford, Hal Guy, of nearby Glastonbury, was shopping for snow shovels — three, to be exact. "We broke a couple in the last storm," he said. "We have four kids, so, three shovels, and we still have a little one back home."
Guy said three of his kids, girls ages 8, 10 and 12, have been out of school for two weeks for the holidays and hope to get a couple more days off with the snow.
Over in Maine, where some communities are still recovering from a recent ice storm that cut power to more than 100,000 customers, people seemed prepared for more winter weather. Kelly St Denis, of Auburn, went skiing on Wednesday at the Sunday River ski area with family and friends. She said it's been cold but the skiing has been good.
"Hey, it's winter in Maine," she said. "We go with it."
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