The yesterday morning commute was normal for much of the Northeast as officials continued to urge residents to prepare for a “crippling and potentially historic” storm that could bury communities from northern New Jersey to southern Maine in up to 2 feet of snow starting later in the day.
The National Weather Service said the nor’easter would bring heavy snow, powerful winds and widespread coastal flooding through Tuesday. A blizzard warning was issued for a 250-mile stretch of the Northeast, including New York and Boston.
Officials cautioned residents to not be misled by a relatively smooth morning commute. They warned that getting home could be difficult and asked residents to avoid any unnecessary travel.
The morning commute was delayed Modnay for drivers on a section of Interstate 81 near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. A tractor-trailer jack knifed, and a truck hauling beer crashed into the median. No injuries were reported.
Some schools were planning to close early or not open at all yesterday in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.
Government officials began to activate emergency centers on Sunday as professional sports teams, schools and utilities hastily revised their schedules and made preparations.
“This could be a storm the likes of which we have never seen before,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told a news conference in a Manhattan sanitation garage where workers were preparing plows and salt for the massive cleanup on about 6,000 miles of city roadways.
In Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker warned residents to prepare for roads that are “very hard, if not impossible, to navigate,” power outages and possibly even a lack of public transportation.
Boston is expected to get 18 to 24 inches of snow, with up to 2 feet or more west of the city, and Philadelphia could see up to a foot, the weather service said.
The Washington area expected only a couple of inches, with steadily increasing amounts as the storm heads north.
“We do anticipate very heavy snowfall totals,” said Bob Oravec, lead forecaster with the weather service in College Park, Maryland. “In addition to heavy snow, with blizzard warnings, there’s a big threat of high, damaging winds, and that will be increasing yesterday into Tuesday. A lot of blowing, drifting and such.”
President Barack Obama, who is traveling in India, has been briefed on the storm, spokesman Josh Earnest said yesterday. White House officials also have been in touch with officials from states “up and down the Eastern seaboard” that are in the storm’s path, Earnest said.
Wind gusts of 75 mph or more are possible for coastal areas of Massachusetts, and up to 50 mph further inland, Oravec said.
