Storm plasters winter-weary Northeast; thousands lose power
BOSTON — The third powerful nor’easter in two weeks slammed the Northeast on Tuesday, bringing blizzard conditions and more than a foot of snow to some communities and knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses.
High winds and blowing snow led meteorologists to categorize the storm as a blizzard in parts of New England, including Boston. By afternoon, power outages climbed to more than 250,000 just in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
“We’re not out of winter yet, that’s for sure,” Paul Knight, of Portland, said as snow accumulated on his eyebrows during a stroll. “The groundhog was right. Six more weeks of winter, and probably then some.”
Boston’s usually-packed subway trains were nearly empty as many workers stayed home and schools closed. Amtrak suspended all service Tuesday between Boston to New York City.
The storm was expected to last through most of Tuesday, disrupting road and air travel. The flight-tracking site FlightAware reported more than 1,500 canceled flights on Tuesday. At Boston’s Logan International Airport, the terminals were mostly empty with airport workers and the cleaning crew outnumbering passengers.
More than a foot of snow was reported in parts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut and Rhode Island on Tuesday afternoon with the storm expected to continue dumping snow for several more hours.
Some areas could get more than 2 feet, meteorologists said.
Not everyone complained. Andrew Gesler, who was walking in Portland with his son in a stroller and his dog alongside, said he was happy to see another big storm.
“I think it may be one of the last ones so I’m out here appreciating it,” Gesler said. “I love the white stuff, always had ever since I was a kid.”