Fierce storm takes aim at Northeast
Parts of the Northeast were bracing for a powerful winter storm that could dump heavy, wet snow and unleash strong winds, which could knockout power to hundreds of thousands of people.
The National Weather Service forecast the storm to begin late Monday and last into Wednesday. The storm could hit parts of New England, upstate New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, and northern New Jersey, with snowfall totals expected to range from a few inches to a few feet, depending on the area.
“This could be deadly,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned at a storm briefing in Albany. “Please stay off the roads for your own safety.”
Higher elevations in New York’s mid-Hudson region and the Albany area could receive 3 feet of snow.
Hochul, whose state of emergency started at 7 p.m. Monday, said snow plow crews from Long Island and utility crews as far away as Canada were being sent to the region. She also said 100 National Guard members were brought in to assist with emergency response.
Snow in the western part of Massachusetts could exceed 18 inches, but along the coast, the totals could be 3 or 4 inches, said Bill Simpson, a spokesman for the National Weather Service in Norton, Mass.
“I’m not quite sure of the exact track,” Simpson said. “That makes all the difference in the world.”
Some schools in the region canceled classes for today ahead of the storm, and Maine Gov. Janet Mills directed that all state offices be closed today.
Connecticut’s largest electricity provider, Eversource, was bringing in extra crews from other states as it prepared for up to 130,000 power outages.
In New Hampshire, the storm will hit on Election Day for town officeholders. Dozens of communities postponed voting, while others reminded voters that they could vote by absentee ballot on Monday instead.
Lawmakers have since changed the law to allow town moderators to postpone elections if the National Weather Service issues a storm warning. For today, such warnings have been issued for at least parts of seven of the state’s 10 counties.