Rare freeze and snow grip the Southeast

New England braces for a ‘bomb cyclone’

A winter storm dumping rare ice and snow from Florida to North Carolina was expected to strengthen rapidly into Thursday as it pushes up the Eastern Seaboard, turning into a violent “bomb cyclone” that could produce blizzard conditions and hurricane-like winds in eastern New England and up to two feet of snow in parts of Maine.

Winter weather watches and warnings were in place in a continuous 1,300mile stretch from northern Florida to northern Maine.

In Boston, where forecasters predicted 10 to 16 inches of snow, Mayor Marty Walsh announced that public schools would be closed on Thursday.

The storm caps a week of brutal cold across the nation that has left at least 16 people dead.

As the storm gripped the East Coast, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency in their states through Friday. In the Southeast, winter storm warnings were issued in such usually mild locations as Tallahassee; Savannah, Ga.; Hilton Head and Charleston, S.C.; North Carolina’s Outer Banks and Wilmington, N.C.

Those warnings for northern Florida also were the first in almost four years.

Snow was reported in Tallahassee on Wednesday for the first time in 28 years, according to Weather Channel meteorologist Mike Seidel.

Sharon Rosenberg, 35, a lifelong Tallahassee resident, and her children caught snowflakes on their tongues and made small snowballs.

The National Weather Service also warned of dangerous driving conditions across the region from icy roads and low visibility.

In Florida, authorities on Wednesday shut down a stretch of Interstate 10 east of Tallahassee because of icy conditions.

In Savannah, Mayor Eddie DeLoach urged residents to keep off the roads. City officials, bracing for a rare bout of ice and up to 3 inches of snow, filled dump trucks with sand to spread on major streets.

Both the Charleston and the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airports closed on Wednesday because of snow and ice. Snow fell in Charleston and in Savannah on Wednesday for the first time since 2010.

William Shaw, a Savannah native, used baby steps to shuffle along a frozen road from his home to the post office. “It almost seems the town is deserted just like in the last hurricane,” said Shaw, 65.

In central Florida, the state’s largest theme parks announced that water attractions such as Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon, Universal Orlando’s Volcano Bay and SeaWorld’s Aquatica were closed Wednesday because of the cold snap.

Wind chill advisories were in place as far south as Boca Raton, Fla.

The North Carolina Zoo offered halfpriced admission, giving visitors a rare chance to see polar bears frolic in their kind of weather.

The brutal weather, fed by punishing cold air sweeping in from Canada, put much of the country in a deep freeze. Wind chill advisories and freeze warnings were in effect from South Texas to Canada and from Montana through New England.

Along the East Coast, the “bomb cyclone,” formed by a process known as bombogenesis, was expected to intensify off New England on Thursday and could generate blizzard conditions from Connecticut to Maine. Winds on Cape Cod could rage from 50-60 mph.

“It’s sort of akin to a hurricane traveling up the coast,” said Ryan Maue, a meteorologist at Weather.us.

“It’s sort of akin to a hurricane traveling up the coast.”

Meteorologist Ryan Maue

STEPHEN B. MORTON/AP Omar Elkhalidi scrapes ice off his windshield in Savannah, Ga., on Wednesday. Snow fell in the city for the first time since 2010.