A massive winter storm is bearing down on New York City and much of the Northeast Thursday, packing heavy snow, strong winds and frigid temperatures. VPC
A massive winter storm that has slammed the Midwest was bearing down on New York City and much of the Northeast Thursday, packing heavy snow, strong winds and frigid temperatures.
Snow began falling overnight in parts of New England and New York, but the real brunt of the storm wasn't expected to hit until later Thursday.
The National Weather Service placed the entire New York City area under a winter storm watch for Thursday and Friday. A winter storm watch means there is potential for significant snow accumulations that may affect travel.
With 3 to 7 inches of snow forecast for New York city, Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged commuters to leave their cars at home in case major highways are closed for Thursday's evening rush hour.
"We are looking at a serious storm situation," he said.
Up to 14 inches of snow is forecast for the Boston area and the National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for Long Island — where 8 to 10 inches of snow could fall and winds could gust up to 45 mph — from Thursday evening into Friday afternoon.
Dot Joyce, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino's press secretary, said it was too early to say whether students' first day back to school, slated for Friday, would be canceled. "We are New Englanders — we get snow and we get cold weather and we're hardy," she said.
The powerful storm has already brought up to a foot of snow to parts of Michigan and up to 6 inches or more in Illinois. Chicago could see as much as 6-8 inches of snow from late Tuesday through late Thursday.
About 1,000 U.S. flights were canceled for Thursday, with Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and New Jersey's Newark Liberty International most affected, according to the aviation tracking website FlightAware.com.
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The storm was expected to dip as far south as Washington, which could get up to 2 inches of snow.
The NWS said bitter cold would continue over the Northern Plains and upper Midwest, with temperatures running as much as 20 to 30 degrees below normal.
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International Falls, Minn., has endured eight days when the temperature has dropped below minus-30 degrees, which is a record, according to meteorologist Cory Mottice of AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions.
Some of the coldest air in years will roar into the Northeast after the snowstorm departs Friday, according to AccuWeather meteorologist Bernie Rayno. "This is likely to be the coldest weather for much of the Northeast since January 2009," Rayno said.
Lows in cities such as Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore will drop into the single digits Friday night.
Contributing: Greg Toppo
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