Blizzard On Its Way Citizen Advised To Remain Indoors

I can imagine, I feel that cold in my bone marrow Lol!.  New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut issued state wide road travel bans ahead of the brunt of the powerful, fast-moving blizzard, dubbed Winter Storm Juno by The Weather Channel.
Officials have ordered workers to go home early, banned travel and closed bridges and tunnels. The snow threatened to affect people in a dozen states.

A historic snowstorm blasted its way through the Northeast Monday, threatening to wreak havoc in seven states, with thousands of flight cancellations, school closings and up to 3 feet of snow and blizzard like conditions expected to impact up to 40 million people. 

"We encourage citizens to stay in place during the duration of the storm," said Conn. Gov. Dannel Malloy. "We believe this will be a long duration clean-up."

"This is clearly going to be a really big deal,'' said Mass. Gov Charlie Baker, who predicted the blizzard would be a "top-five historic storm."  

Air and rail traffic was already heavily snarled. At least 7,500 flights into and out of the region were cancelled through Wednesday. Amtrak service was suspended between New York and Boston for Tuesday, while other regional routes were to operate on reduced schedules. Coastal residents braced for flooding from hurricane-force winds. 

Strong winds had ConEd and other utility companies bracing for widespread power outages, with emergency repairs crews from Michigan and other areas already en route.

New York City took the rare step of banning all forms of travel due to the storm, grinding the city that never sleeps to a halt. Boston took similar measures. A blizzard warning was issued for both metropolitan areas. 

"It's dangerous out there now. It's only going to become more dangerous,'' New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday evening as he announced a total ban on travel on any road after 11 p.m. in 13 counties.

Central Park recorded more than 4 inches of snow by 7 p.m., when there was a lull in the snowfall. But the city was taking no chances.

"This will most likely be one of the largest blizzards in the history of New York City,'' said Mayor Bill de Blasio. 

YOUR TAKE: What's the weather like outside your window? 

The treacherous, 24-hour-plus snow odyssey was expected to be most severe late Monday and deep into Tuesday. AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tom Kines said Philadelphia, New York City and much of New England could see 1-2 feet of snow. Parts of central Massachusetts and central Connecticut could be hit by 2 to 3 feet, he said. 

Wind gusts could reach 40-55 mph in many areas, with 60 mph or more possible along the coast, Kines said. 

"Travel will be impossible. Forget about it on Tuesday," Kines told USA TODAY. "The sun will come out Wednesday, and they all can start digging out."

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie warned residents to stay inside.

"You should only go out in case of an absolute emergency or necessity," Christie said. "We do not need people on the roadways. It makes it much more difficult to do our jobs. We would like to make Wednesday productive for everybody, and the only way for us to make Wednesday productive is for you to give us the opportunity to do our job on Tuesday and (Monday) evening." 

 

USATODAY