Big chill in the Big Apple
Temps plunge in NYC, winter storm hammers New England
BOSTON — A major winter storm brought some of the coldest temperatures of the season and blanketed a wide swath of the U.S. in snow as it wreaked havoc on air travel and caused dangerously icy conditions throughout New England yesterday.
The U.S. National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings or advisories for part or all of at least 15 states stretching from southeast Missouri to the northern tip of Maine ahead of the weekend storm.
More than 1,500 flights were cancelled nationwide yesterday, with Boston’s Logan Airport among the hardest hit, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking company.
Typically bustling security lines, ticketing counters and baggage claims were largely deserted yesterday morning at Logan Airport, but some stranded passengers lingered.
Xavi Ortega, a 32-year-old engineer from Spain, slept overnight at the airport with his wife after their 10:30 p.m. flight to Barcelona Saturday was cancelled.
“We’ve been sleeping, playing Candy Crush,” Ortega said.
The heavily populated coast from New York to Boston largely escaped major snowfall yesterday but saw plummeting temperatures as snow gave way to icy rain and sleet in parts.
Manhattan saw mostly rain and cities along Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts’ coast recorded up to 12 cm of snow.
Mountain regions saw significantly more, with the Adirondacks in upstate New York registering up to 50 cm while western Massachusetts’ Berkshires saw as much as 25 cm.
Parts of northern New England were on track to see up to 60 cm of snow.
Meteorologists warned the primary concern heading into today is plunging temperatures that will be some of the coldest felt so far this season.
Wind chills were expected to hit in the teens in the New York City area, -35C in Albany and down to -40C in the Adirondacks.