Brutal storm dumps wintry mix on northeastern interstates before moving offshore
By
Chaffin Mitchell, AccuWeather staff writer &
Adriana Navarro, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Jan 18, 2020 3:21 PM EDT
Freezing rain and extremely cold air in Centre County, Pennsylvania, created an icy shell around this car on Jan. 18.
Motorists were faced with travel difficulties during the long holiday weekend as snow and ice created treacherous driving conditions across the Northeast, including in Philadelphia, New York City and Boston.
New York City Emergency Management issued a Travel Advisory on Saturday as a Winter Weather Advisory took effect in the city.
Across the New York City metropolitan area, snowfall totals of 1-3 inches were observed by the time the storm departed Saturday night.
By the evening hours of Saturday, areas of Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York had accumulated up to 4 inches of snowfall, and Vermont saw up to 2.5 inches of snowfall.
Due to poor road conditions on Saturday, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reduced the speed limit on interstates 90, 86 and 79 in Erie, Crawford, Venango, and Mercer counties to 45 mph. The speed limit was restored on I-90 in Erie County, Pennsylvania, Sunday evening.
The speed limit was also reduced to 45 mph on I-180 westbound in Pennsylvania and commercial vehicles were limited to use the right lane only.
A car ran off of the road during wintry weather conditions in Thornburry, Pennsylvania. Twitter/sadgirlWRX
The National Weather Service recorded 1.1 inches of snow in Moon, Pennsylvania, early Saturday morning as the quick-hitting storm made its way into the area.
On Sunday morning, 6 inches of total snowfall was recorded in Bradford, Pennsylvania.
In the wake of the storm, the mountains of northwestern Pennsylvania and southwestern New York could also have 6-12 inches of fresh powder due to lake enhancement.
As of early Monday morning, Caribou, Maine, received 9.5 inches of snow.
The Mackinac Bridge in Michigan, which is the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere, required escorts for high-profile vehicles due to high winds of almost 50 mph on Saturday morning. Bridge personnel are stationed at both ends of the bridge to give instructions.
Strong winds led to blowing and drifting snow which reduced visibility across portions of the Northeast and led to travel delays and slower clean-up efforts.
Officials asked residents in affected areas to be patient with road crews while they work continuously to move snow off of the roads, and only travel if necessary.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Emergency Personnel responded to hundreds of weather-related travel incidents throughout the weekend. The New Hampshire state police responded to a driver who ran off of the road due to driving too fast in poor road conditions.
Not only was travel impacted for those traveling by road, but air travel was also heavily impacted. Flight delays and cancellations mounted during the weekend as the storm tracked northeastward across the nation.
On Saturday, nearly 250 flights at O'Hare International Airport had been canceled. Another 94 were canceled at Newark Liberty Airport.
Major transportation hubs including St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., were all impacted by the storm, which resulted in delays or cancellations that rippled across the nation as flights struggled to get in and out of airports.
Bitter cold will linger in the wake of the storm system on Monday, but AccuWeather meteorologists say that milder days are ahead for the Midwest and Northeast later this week.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Weather News
Brutal storm dumps wintry mix on northeastern interstates before moving offshore
By Chaffin Mitchell, AccuWeather staff writer & Adriana Navarro, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Jan 18, 2020 3:21 PM EDT
Freezing rain and extremely cold air in Centre County, Pennsylvania, created an icy shell around this car on Jan. 18.
Motorists were faced with travel difficulties during the long holiday weekend as snow and ice created treacherous driving conditions across the Northeast, including in Philadelphia, New York City and Boston.
New York City Emergency Management issued a Travel Advisory on Saturday as a Winter Weather Advisory took effect in the city.
Across the New York City metropolitan area, snowfall totals of 1-3 inches were observed by the time the storm departed Saturday night.
By the evening hours of Saturday, areas of Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York had accumulated up to 4 inches of snowfall, and Vermont saw up to 2.5 inches of snowfall.
Due to poor road conditions on Saturday, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reduced the speed limit on interstates 90, 86 and 79 in Erie, Crawford, Venango, and Mercer counties to 45 mph. The speed limit was restored on I-90 in Erie County, Pennsylvania, Sunday evening.
The speed limit was also reduced to 45 mph on I-180 westbound in Pennsylvania and commercial vehicles were limited to use the right lane only.
A car ran off of the road during wintry weather conditions in Thornburry, Pennsylvania. Twitter/sadgirlWRX
The National Weather Service recorded 1.1 inches of snow in Moon, Pennsylvania, early Saturday morning as the quick-hitting storm made its way into the area.
On Sunday morning, 6 inches of total snowfall was recorded in Bradford, Pennsylvania.
In the wake of the storm, the mountains of northwestern Pennsylvania and southwestern New York could also have 6-12 inches of fresh powder due to lake enhancement.
As of early Monday morning, Caribou, Maine, received 9.5 inches of snow.
Related:
The Mackinac Bridge in Michigan, which is the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere, required escorts for high-profile vehicles due to high winds of almost 50 mph on Saturday morning. Bridge personnel are stationed at both ends of the bridge to give instructions.
Strong winds led to blowing and drifting snow which reduced visibility across portions of the Northeast and led to travel delays and slower clean-up efforts.
Officials asked residents in affected areas to be patient with road crews while they work continuously to move snow off of the roads, and only travel if necessary.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Emergency Personnel responded to hundreds of weather-related travel incidents throughout the weekend. The New Hampshire state police responded to a driver who ran off of the road due to driving too fast in poor road conditions.
Not only was travel impacted for those traveling by road, but air travel was also heavily impacted. Flight delays and cancellations mounted during the weekend as the storm tracked northeastward across the nation.
On Saturday, nearly 250 flights at O'Hare International Airport had been canceled. Another 94 were canceled at Newark Liberty Airport.
Major transportation hubs including St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., were all impacted by the storm, which resulted in delays or cancellations that rippled across the nation as flights struggled to get in and out of airports.
Bitter cold will linger in the wake of the storm system on Monday, but AccuWeather meteorologists say that milder days are ahead for the Midwest and Northeast later this week.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo