Latest:
New York: Most travel bans and service suspensions were being
lifted Tuesday morning after a snowstorm pounded the Tri-State area.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the travel
ban has been lifted in all counties except for Suffolk.
In New Jersey,
as of 7:30 a.m., travel is now permissible statewide, Gov. Chris Christie
announced this morning. Thirty minutes earlier, Christie said travel would be
allowed south of Interstate 195.
Christie lifted the ban after forecasts that had
called for two feet or more of snow in parts of the state fizzled.
Earlier this morning, the National Weather Service lifted
the blizzard warning that covered most of the state. Northern and central Jersey are now under a winter storm warning.
Only two southern counties have a winter storm advisory in
effect — Burlington and Gloucester.
-------------------
Cape May, Salem, Cumberland, Atlantic, Gloucester,
Camden and Burlington
are not under a warning or advisory.
New York, Jan 27
Northeastern US was hit late
Monday by a massive snowstorm which affected normal life in Boston,
Manhattan, New England and elsewhere in the region.
"We're
hunkered down with food, shelter and water," said Rafi Menachem, a
financial consultant who lives in Brookline, Massachusetts, near Boston,
adding, "I'm worried about electricity", according to a CNN report.
Meteorologists had warned of a "crippling" and "potentially historic" blizzard in the region from Monday.
New
York looked nothing like its normal bustling self early Tuesday, where
schools were closed, and city officials shut down public transit.
Snow was falling 2 to 4 inches an hour at times and was especially heavy along the coast.
Blizzard
warnings were in place from New Jersey to Maine. Boston was forecast to
receive 20 to 30 inches of snow -- and in some cases a bit more.
Up
to 58 million people could be affected by the deep freeze and the storm
could have a far-reaching economic and political impact, even beyond
the region directly hit, CNN said.
A state of emergency was in
place in seven states across the region -- Massachusetts, New York, New
Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.
More than 4,300 flights have been cancelled for Tuesday, the CNN report said, citing the flight-tracking website Flightaware.
That's on top of 2,800 flights cancelled Monday. Hundreds more have already been cancelled for Wednesday.
The hardest hit airports were in New York, Boston and Philadelphia. Boston's Logan Airport would not reopen until Wednesday.
New
York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday: "It is frightening how quickly a
simple trip to the supermarket can wind up being very dangerous."
Connecticut and Massachusetts also put travel bans in place. Violating the ban can set one back by $500 in Massachusetts.
In
Philadelphia, Mayor Michael Nutter declared a snow emergency. Cars left
parked on snow emergency routes would be towed and owners ticketed, he
said.
"It's going to be the kind of night where the best thing
anybody can do is stay inside," Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker
said Monday evening.
According to reports, groceries flew off store shelves.
Michelle Thompson, a professor who lives in New York, found little left at a Greenwich Village grocery store.
"These
are the sort of supplies New Yorkers need," she said gazing at the
empty shelves. "Apparently, fresh bread is imperative as well as eggs.
Don't forget the dried pasta and sauce!"
According to New York
Police Commissioner William Bratton, his force was well prepared with a
fleet of vehicles to handle the crisis.
"I want everyone to
understand that we are facing - most likely - one of the largest
snowstorms in the history of this city," New York Mayor Bill de Blasio
said.
To put the mayor's statement in perspective, in 2006, 26.9 inches of snow fell on the city.
