Snowstorm hits winter-weary area for 3rd time
BOSTON — A nor’easter that could deliver up to 2 feet of snow to some areas socked New England on Tuesday, bringing blizzard conditions to coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island, blanketing highways with fluffy snow and knocking out power to tens of thousands of utility customers.
Meteorologists confirmed blizzards in Newport, R.I., Boston and other parts of Massachusetts. Blizzard warnings were issued for Maine and New Hampshire.
The rest of New England was under winter storm warnings, while winter weather advisories were issued for most of New York and parts of New Jersey, West Virginia and North Carolina.
Although the latest storm is not expected to bring as many power outages as a nor’easter last week because the snow is lighter, more than 150,000 customers in Massachusetts were without power Tuesday morning.
Janice James’ Osterville house on Cape Cod was in the dark again after losing power for three days in the past storm. James and her four children spent Tuesday eating baked goods she made before the storm and hoping the lights and heat come back soon.
“We are freezing,” James, 39, said.
The Boston-area public transit system operated on a limited weekday basis. Usually packed subway trains were nearly empty as many workers stayed home and schools closed.
Joe Rotella ducked into a train station as he tried to find his way to a hotel that’s hosting a convention where he’s speaking. Organizers were scrambling to establish video links to speakers whose planes were delayed or canceled, said Rotella, chief medical officer with the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
“As a visitor to Boston, I’ve been looking forward to this for months, and this is kind of an adventure for me,” the Louisville, Ky., man said. “I didn’t have to go through the last two nor’easters so this still feels like fun.”
The storm was expected to disrupt road and air travel. The flight-tracking site FlightAware reported more than 1,500 canceled flights on Tuesday.
Amtrak suspended all service Tuesday between Boston to New York City.
Eastern Long Island felt the brunt of the storm in the New York City area. Newsday reported that the storm knocked out power to more than 6,000 homes and businesses on Long Island, and forecasters said the island’s East End could get up to a foot of snow.
Maine braced for a hard hit. The Portland International Jetport has had 75.5 inches of snow, far above the normal for the date of 51.8 inches. Another 12 to 18 inches is expected, said James Brown of the National Weather Service.