Winter storm dumps snow and ice across Northeast, forcing travel and power cutbacks

A major winter storm began dumping heavy snow across the Northeast United States on Sunday as it moved eastward, threatening to disrupt transportation and power in New York and other major cities. The National Weather Service warned of a dangerous mix of ice, heavy snow and bitter cold, and said a winter storm warning covered more than 140 million people from New Mexico to Maine.

Forecasters said parts of New England could see up to a foot and a half of snow, and Central Park was forecast to receive about 12 inches. Freezing rain was expected to coat roads and topple power lines in parts of the Midwest, South and Mid-Atlantic; more than 300,000 electricity customers — mostly in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Tennessee — were without power before dawn on Sunday, the report said.

Travel disruptions were widespread: the flight-tracking site FlightAware reported more than 10,000 flight cancellations across the United States, and multiple transit agencies cut service. NJ Transit suspended all bus, rail and Access Link services starting early Sunday, New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority urged riders to avoid travel and said it would run shorter buses with snow chains, and the Washington Metro reported more than 100 bus routes suspended or on detour.

Meteorologists said the bulk of heavy accumulation was expected Sunday afternoon into Sunday night, with precipitation tapering on Monday and skies clearing on Tuesday.

Key Topics

World, Winter Storm, New York City, New England, Mid-atlantic, National Weather Service