Snow and hurricane-force winds are slated to hit the Northeast this weekend. Residents in the tri-state area are scrambling to get ready after last year's unusually dry and mild winter. NBC's Ron Mott reports.
By John Newland, Staff Writer, NBC News
Updated at 7:20 a.m. ET: A severe winter storm barreled toward some of the most heavily populated parts of the country Friday, closing thousands of schools, causing massive travel disruption and threatening to bring more than two feet of snow and gale-force winds to much of the Northeast.
The National Weather Service issued blizzard warnings from northern New Jersey northeast to Maine, with New York and Boston expected to be among the hardest hit.
Airlines cancelled more than 2,400 flights across the region as the storm barreled eastward from the Midwest and Great Lakes, according to FlightAware.com.
Thousands of schools were closed across the region as officials braced for a storm that the weather service called ?major and potentially historic.?
"This one doesn't come along every day. This is going to be a dangerous winter storm," Alan Dunham, meteorologist for the National Weather Service, told The Associated Press. "Wherever you need to get to, get there by Friday afternoon and don't plan on leaving."?
In New York, where up to 14 inches of snow was expected to be accompanied by high winds, Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned residents to stay off the roads and use public transportation if they must venture out, despite the possibility of transit disruptions. Long Island was expected to be hit with up to two feet of snow. About 250,000 tons of salt were ready for use, Bloomberg added.
Sleet and light snow started falling in the city by 7 a.m., and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority added more than 20 afternoon trains on its Metro-North commuter lines out of Grand Central Terminal to get workers out of the city before the brunt of the storm hit.?
The snow is expected to pick up early Friday afternoon and by Saturday at 8 a.m. blizzard conditions will be in full force along several major cities in the Northeast, from New York City to Portland. The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore reports.
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick held a news conference Thursday to warn residents across the state to prepare for up to 2 1/2 feet of snow.
"We?re also expecting gale-force winds. Accumulation is expected to be swift, heavy and dangerous," Patrick said. "I am ordering all non-essential state workers to work from home [Friday]. I am strongly urging private employers to take the same precautions."
In Boston, the storm had the potential to take out century-old records. The weather service said up to three feet of snow could fall in parts of?Massachusetts?through Saturday, accompanied by winds gusting up to 70 mph. The city?s biggest snowstorms since 1892 were a 27.5-inch blast in February 2003 and a 27.1-inch dumping exactly 35 years ago, in 1978. Mayor Thomas Menino closed city schools for Friday and pleaded for common sense. "Stay off the streets of our city," he said.
Boston's subway and bus systems will close at 3:30 p.m. ET Friday, according to the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority.
"There's the potential here to have 20 to 30 inches over a widespread area, including Boston," Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore said, reporting from the city. "It's going to be crippling."
Cantore urged people to take care of any urgent errands immediately, before the storm set in.
"The number one thing I would do is gas up the vehicle," he said.?
But that might not be so easy. NBCNewYork.com reported lines of 20 to 40 cars at gas stations across the metro area.
More from NBCNewYork.com
Connecticut?s governor also ordered state workers to stay home and said he would activate the state's Emergency Operations Center at 9 a.m.
Justin Lane / EPA
Worker Jimmy White attaches chains to tires at a New York City Department of Sanitation facility Thursday in preparation for the major winter storm expected to hit Friday.
The storm was expected to move into the New York metro area around 6 a.m. ET and begin laying down a snow blanket through Saturday.
Those planning to travel into, out of or within New York and New England were likely to see their plans ruined.
By 6:20 a.m. ET Friday, United Airlines had canceled 462 flights, Delta 302, American 186 and US Airways 108. Carriers operating shuttle flights in the Northeast, including ExpressJet, Pinnacle, Shuttle America and Chautauqua, had each canceled more than 100 flights. ExpressJet alone canceled 190 flights.
New York and Boston airports were subject to 1,955 arrival and departure cancellations, according to FlightAware.com figures.
Amtrak said it would cancel train service between New York and Boston on Friday, with the last northbound train leaving New York at 1:03 p.m. and the last southbound train leaving Boston at 1:40 p.m.?
The storm also was affecting the Midwest, including Chicago, Detroit and Milwaukee, but with snowfall totals likely to be less than six inches. That?s a far cry from New England,?weather.com?said.
For Friday night, weather.com predicted:
"Heavy snow over much of New England, upstate New York, as far south as the Lower Hudson Valley. Snowfall rates of 2-3 inches per hour are possible in coastal New England, including Boston, Hartford, and Portland, Maine."
It added that "heavy, wind-driven snow" was expected to continue in New England on Saturday. However, snow was expected to end Saturday morning around New York City. ?
Weather.com warned that high winds that were likely to bring down trees and power lines and cause significant power outages.
Coastal areas of Massachusetts, including Cape Cod, Martha?s Vineyard and Nantucket Island, were warned to brace for wind gusts over 70 mph. Those living on north- and east-facing shorelines from Boston south to Cape Cod Bay should prepare for tides two to four feet above normal, bringing a danger of flooding, significant beach erosion and numerous road closures.
The weather service warned of widespread coastal flooding from Boston northward.
The storm is expected to move out to sea from Maine by Sunday.
Related:
More coverage from weather.com
'Stay off the roads': East Coast residents warned to stay home
Northeast storm could be among the worst of all time
Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/08/16895255-dangerous-winter-storm-closes-in-on-northeast
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