Millions of people in New York City and a large swath of the northeastern U.S. are stuck at home under road travel bans and blizzard warnings Monday as heavy snow and strong winds intensified, creating whiteout conditions in the densely populated region.
Snow fell at a rate of 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.6 centimeters) an hour early Monday from New York through Massachusetts. Some areas have gotten well over a foot (30 centimeters) of snow since Sunday, along with wind gusts of over 30 mph (48 kph) and low visibility.
More than 5,000 flights in and out of the U.S. were canceled for Monday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Most were canceled in New York, New Jersey and Boston.
Ali Atoun was bundled up in a parka and hood as he worked in a Manhattan coffee truck, where he had opened up at 6 a.m.
He was warm enough, he said. But customers? “Very few.”
‘We’re not out of the woods yet’
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont is warning that more electricity outages are likely as the snow freezes, pulling tree branches onto power lines.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” he told WFSB-TV shortly before 11 a.m. “This storm’s got at least a few more hours to go.”
He said roughly 20,000 homes were out of power so far.
Given the large amount of snow, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said cities and towns will be allowed to dispose of snow piles in bodies of water, subject to various restrictions.
Source: WPLG
