AccuWeather's live coverage of the nor'easter has ended. Scroll down to read a compilation of storm reports and news updates from Sunday, Jan. 31 through Tuesday, Feb. 2. Additional storm coverage can be found on AccuWeather.com and the AccuWeather Network.
Cleanup efforts are just underway from the nor'easter, but there's a chance that residents across the Northeast could experience some déjà vu this time next week. The upcoming weather pattern being studied by AccuWeather meteorologists indicates that there is the possibility of another major snowstorm in the Northeast next week.
"For at least the next week, the weather looks pretty tumultuous in the eastern two-thirds of the United States," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Rob Miller said. If the necessary ingredients come together, including how close a coastal storm remains to land, then an all-out blizzard could unfold in parts of the Northeast.
Mount Washington is world-renowned for the extreme weather, once holding the world record for the highest wind gust ever clocked at 231 mph. The weather observatory perched atop the 6,288-foot mountain once again experienced extreme conditions during this week’s nor’easter, although it was nothing close to the former world record. On Tuesday morning, sustained winds at the top of Mount Washington, New Hampshire, reached 85 mph with gusts occasionally topping 100 mph. It was almost impossible to see objects feet away with the visibility being virtually zero due to substantial blowing snow amid the hurricane-force winds, according to observations recorded at the top of the mountain. The strong winds limited snow accumulation on top of the mountain to under 6 inches, but lower elevations around the base of the mountain have picked up between 6 and 12 inches, according to trained spotters in the area.
More than 35.5 inches of snow has been reported in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, according to a National Weather Service list of storm reports. This is the highest storm total for any area so far, according to AccuWeather Senior Weather Editor Jesse Ferrell. Nazareth is located about 17 miles north of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the northeastern part of the state.
Winter storm watches and warnings continue to be lifted throughout the Northeast, including in Boston, where only a coastal flood advisory is in effect. Boston Logan International Airport reported just over 2 inches of snow from the nor'easter, as the city also dealt with strong winds and heavy rain. Some of the heaviest totals in Massachusetts were reported in the central and western parts of the state. Worcester received 13.8 inches of snow on Monday, breaking the previous record for the date of 7.6 inches from 2011. Worcester has since topped 15 inches from this event.
AccuWeather meteorologist and staff writer Brian Lada said there was a significant snow gradient around Boston. "Downtown only got 1-3 inches but just a few miles away, more than a foot fell," he said.
It was a bit of a different story six years ago on this date in the Massachusetts capital. According to the NWS in Boston, "the second major storm of the "2015 Snow Blitz" dumped as much as 1-2 feet of snow on the region, just days after the January 26-27 storm" unleashed heavy snow. The winter of 2014-2015 was the snowiest on record for Boston with a seasonal total of 108.6 inches.
On #TimelampseTuesday, the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tweeted out a cool glimpse at how the nor'easter came together. While the storm is still ongoing, this video from NOAA's GOES-East satellite captured a 40-hour period of development from Sunday morning to Monday night as the nor'easter developed and navigated up the coast. Watch the storm come together in the video below.
Around 11:30 a.m. EST Tuesday, the satellite showed the massive storm system covering much of the northeastern U.S. On the storm's southern side, over the open Atlantic, lighting in thunderstorms was being detected by the satellite.
(Image/NOAA GOES East)
The heaviest snow is currently falling across Maine and Atlantic Canada, while areas of mixing and bands of snow continue to fall across other parts of the Northeast. AccuWeather meteorologists say localized bands of snowfall can continue to produce high snowfall rates but on a very localized scale. These bands of snow could lead to rapid changes in visibility and road conditions across eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and New England through Tuesday afternoon and evening, forecasters warn. After the storm departs, cold air will remain in place and winds could whip up snow that's already fallen. Some additional snow showers are also possible.
This radar image shows the storm off the Northeast coast on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. (AccuWeather)
As the snowstorm ramped up on Sunday in the Northeast, a huge crowd gathered at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for a massive battle. It turns out, the crowd on hand was for a snowball fight planned by the Washington DC Snowball Fight Association, an event that was two years in the making. About 2.3 inches of snow were measured on Sunday at Reagan National Airport, making it one of the biggest single-day snowfalls in several years for the city.
"Snow is obviously crucial," said Michael Lipin, a co-founder of the DC Snowball Fight Association. "If we don't have snow, we're sort of out of business," he said, adding that the group was organized as a way to help people avoid suffering from cabin fever. Regardless of how many people show up, those who do end up participating in these epic snowball fights wind up having a great time, Lipin said. Click here for more on this story.
People throw snowballs during a snowball fight, organized by the Washington DC Snowball Fight Association, with the Washington Monument behind, on the National Mall, Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The snowstorm that barreled through the Northeast brought inches upon inches of snowfall to the region, with some areas seeing nearly 3 feet of snow. As of Tuesday morning, Springtown, Pennsylvania, in Bucks County north of Philadelphia, received as much as 31.2 inches of snowfall, one of the highest snowfall totals of the state. Mendham, a town in northern New Jersey, saw about an even 30 inches of snowfall. While all this snow will make for great sledding, it can still cause trouble even with the storm moving out, as wind gusts up to 30 to 40 mph following the storm through Wednesday can kick up snow and reduce visibility even in areas where snow is not actively falling.
On today's edition of AccuWeather's Weather Insider podcast, AccuWeather Chief Broadcast Meteorologist Bernie Rayno highlights some of the biggest snowfall reports from the massive nor'easter and looks ahead to another storm threat later in the week. Give it a listen below.
Residents along the coast in New Jersey have seen more than just snow from this week’s blast of wintry weather. Widespread coastal flooding in towns such as Sea Bright and Sea Isle City has left many neighborhoods under multiple inches of water, rendering many streets impassable.
On Monday, the flooding was enhanced by high tides in the morning, around 9:30 a.m., in Atlantic City and around 11 a.m. in Tuckerton. According to the National Weather Service, a coastal flood warning remains in effect until 5 p.m. Tuesday while minor flooding is expected to endure into Wednesday.
Without a large crowd on hand this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow shortly before 7:30 a.m. eastern time and made his official prediction. Phil saw his shadow, which means there will be six more weeks of winter. It was a quiet Groundhog Day in the western Pennsylvania town of Punxsutawney this year thanks in part to the pandemic. The event, like so many others this past year, was held in a virtual format. Even if large crowds were allowed, many would have likely encountered travel trouble due to the nor'easter. Surrounding areas of western Pennsylvania saw varying snowfall totals from the storm. Davis, Pennsylvania, located southwest of Punxsutawney had 14.3 inches. In Timblin, located west of Punxsutawney, about 5 inches of snow fell.
Despite the snow and the pandemic, Phil still emerged from his burrow to make a prediction. (Image/Lincoln Riddle)
Authorities in Pennsylvania confirmed on Monday that a woman from Allentown, Pennsylvania, was found dead in the snow and the cause of death was determined to be hypothermia. Police say the 67-year-old woman had Alzheimer's Disease and had walked away from her house early Monday morning, the Lehigh County Coroner's office said.
The ongoing nor'easter is leaving its mark in the history books, with numerous daily records being tied or broken on Monday. Williamsport, Pennsylvania, broke its 113-year-old record for Feb. 1 of 8 inches as 11.2 inches buried the city. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, tied its record of 7.9 inches from the same year (1908). Farther east in Allentown, Pennsylvania, a whopping 22.4 inches piled up, shattering the daily record of 7.2 inches set in 1957.
As the nor'easter strengthens during its crawl up the Eastern Seaboard, winds will continue to ramp up along the upper mid-Atlantic and New England coasts into Tuesday. Wind gusts have been frequenting 30-50 mph from Long Island, New York, to eastern Massachusetts over the past hour -- and forecasters say an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ wind gust of 65 mph is possible. The strong winds can lead to localized power outages, as well as extensive blowing and drifting snow for areas farther inland.
Snow continues to pile up in northern New Jersey, the part of the Northeast that could end up with the highest snowfall totals of the entire nor’easter. Since Saturday, Mendham, New Jersey has measured 30 inches of snow, just 6 inches shy of the 3-foot mark. With snow forecast to continue into Tuesday, Mendham could come close to reaching the AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 44 inches.
A band of particularly heavy snow has developed from northeastern Pennsylvania through southern New Hampshire with snowfall rates reaching 2 inches an hour in some spots. This band stretches from near Scranton, Pennsylvania, just south of Albany, New York, and just north of Boston. Travel is strongly discouraged in this zone as road crews may not be able to keep up with the intense snowfall rates.
The snow keeps piling up in New York City with the official observation site in Central Park reporting 16.3 inches of snow as of 7 p.m. EST Monday. This is now the six-teenth-biggest snowstorm on record for Central Park, according to the National Weather Service. It could climb higher on the list with snow still falling over the area. Additionally, even though it is just the first day of the month, this is the snowiest February since 2014 when Central Park measured 29 inches of snow.
Editor's note: A previous version of this entry stated that Central Park measured 18.3 inches.
The New Jersey State Police (NJSP) was busy over the past 24 hours as snow-covered roads created treacherous travel conditions. As of late Monday afternoon, the NJSP had responded to more than 580 motor vehicle crashes and aided 839 motorists. “We urge residents to remain off of the roads,” the NJSP tweeted. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy added to this by tweeting “If you don’t need to be out – go back to your house. If you’re in your house – don’t leave. Let our road crews, power crews, and first responders have the roads to themselves.”
The nor’easter burying the Northeast is approaching blizzard status as strong winds accompany the snow. To be a blizzard, sustained winds must be at least 35 mph for three consecutive hours, along with persistent visibility of less than one-quarter of a mile. At 5 p.m. EST, Waterbury, Connecticut, reported its first official hour of blizzard conditions with heavy snow, visibility of one-quarter of a mile and winds gusting to 40 mph. There has not yet been a weather station across the region that has observed blizzard conditions for three consecutive hours.
Heavy snow is spreading across southern New England and is blanketing Boston just in time for the Monday evening commute. Snow started falling in the city around 2 p.m. EST but has picked up over the past hour with visibility of less than one mile. Around an inch or two has accumulated just outside of the city, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. As much as 8 to 12 inches is likely to fall in Boston, with over a foot likely across central and western Massachusetts.
The weather radar showing snow (blue) spreading across southern New England on Monday afternoon. (AccuWeather)
Over a foot of snow has fallen across New York City area, leaving some vehicles looking more like giant piles of snow. “Hey dude, where’s my car” one NYC resident said on Twitter. Between the snow that has fallen and the snow that was plowed from the road, the person’s car was almost completely buried with only some of the side and a side mirror visible from the street. More snow is forecast to pile on in the city into Monday night.
A vehicle almost completely buried in snow while parked along a street in the New York City area on Feb. 1, 2021. (Twitter/@ariane321)
AccuWeather Meteorologists have been tracking the ongoing nor’easter closely, and based on the significant snow falling over part of the mid-Atlantic, the AccuWeather Local StormMax™ has been increased to 44 inches. The area that has the highest chance of seeing more than 3 feet of snow is around the triple point of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, including stretches of Interstate 80 and Interstate 84. Heavy snow is forecast to continue in these areas through Monday night and into Tuesday before the snow gradually tapers off.
There will not be much time for residents in these areas to dig out before more chances for wintry weather return. A new cross-country storm may dish another round of snow to the Northeast on Friday, although it would not be as big as the ongoing storm. However, there will be another potential for another nor’easter near the end of the weekend and into the start of the second week of February. There is still a high amount of uncertainty with the potential track and impacts from this storm, but the European weather model, the ECMWF, is hinting at the chance for widespread snow accumulations around 6 to 12 inches from Pennsylvania through Maine. This includes areas that could end up with 30 to 40 inches of snow from the ongoing snowstorm. Meanwhile, the GFS weather model, operated by NOAA, is showing a depicting a different scenario where a weaker, quick-moving storm only spreads a few inches over the region, rather than a major snowstorm.
This map from the ECMWF weather model shows the 24-hour snowfall accumulation across the Northeast between Sunday, Feb. 7 and Monday, Feb. 8. There is still a high amount of uncertainty, but if this scenario pans out, it would dump snow on top of parts of the region that were buried early this week.
A band of heavy snow that set up over New York City has unloaded 8 inches of snow in just 6 hours in Central Park, making Monday the snowiest day in the Big Apple since 2016. As of 1 p.m. EST Monday, 13.3 inches has piled up in Central Park, according to the National Weather Service, with visibility occasionally falling to near-zero. The last time that the city measured this much snow in one day was on Jan. 23, 2016, when a nor’easter buried Central Park with 26.6 inches. With plenty of more snow on the way, it is possible that this week’s storm could reach the 20-inch mark and may approach the snow total that was measured after the 2016 storm.
It should only be a matter of hours before the first snowfall total of 24 inches or more is reported in the Northeast. Snowfall totals have been rapidly rising throughout the day, particularly in northern New Jersey where some of the heaviest bands of snow have set up throughout the morning and early afternoon. Since the storm got underway, the top five highest snowfalls all belong to the Garden State.
Snowfall changed over to a wintry mix in the greater Philadelphia area Sunday night into Monday morning — and a driving sleet came down instead. Philadelphia 6ABC’s Chief Meteorologist Cecily Tynan took to Twitter to remind followers — some of whom were calling the predicted snowfall totals wrong — that the winter storm isn’t even halfway over yet. A heavy snow band was pressing eastward toward the area early in the afternoon. Snowfall will persist during the afternoon and overnight as the storm intensifies off the Northeast coast — and winds are forecast to pick up as well. AccuWeather meteorologists expect snow totals of 6-10 inches in the City of Brotherly Love. "To those Tweeting to me 'WRONG AGAIN', please take note that, as advertised, this is a long duration storm. We’re not even halfway through yet,” Tynan tweeted. "Hold off the typical meteorologist-bashing until the storm is done, please!"
Heavy snow is making its way into southeastern New England and conditions are deteriorating. Webcam images compiled by the National Weather Service in Boston show snow-covered roads in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Conditions are only expected to worsen as the day progresses, forecasters say. A snowfall amount of 5 inches was measured so far in Bridgeport, Connecticut, while one of the biggest reported accumulations in Rhode Island so far is 3.1 inches in North Kingstown.
This image shows heavy snow (dark blue) pouring into southeastern New England around midday Monday, Feb. 1, 2021. (AccuWeather)
Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo shared a video message to Twitter around 12 p.m. urging people to leave work early for the day, if possible. Hear more from Raimondo below.
More than 11,500 people are sent to the emergency room with shoveling-related injuries each year.And for people over 55, especially cardiac patients, the risk of heart attacks is increased by performing vigorous activities such as shoveling snow in the winter. Cold air causes arteries to constrict, which in turn raises blood pressure and pulse rates. Add intense cardio exercise on top of that, and it is the "perfect storm” for a heart attack in cardiac patients, Dr. Samin Sharma, director of Clinical and Interventional Cardiology at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, previously told AccuWeather in an interview.
Here are some tips experts recommend to reduce hazards while shoveling:
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Dress warmly and wear layers to keep your body temperature high, preventing inflammation and constriction
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Push, don’t lift the snow
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If you must lift, stand with your feet hip-width apart, bend your knees, keep your back straight and try not to twist your torso
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Shoveling snow more frequently can help to avoid the strain from heavier snow, especially as it can compact over time
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Cardiac patients should avoid strenuous wintertime activity
A radar image taken just afternoon Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, showed a massive nor'easter delivering intense snowfall across Long Island New York. (NOAA / AccuWeather)
A glance at AccuWeather radar showed a band of intensely heavy snowfall was about to move over Long Island, New York, east of New York City at just after noon on Monday. And the storm is stirring up harsh conditions in the waters just off the south shore of Long Island. A buoy off the coast of Long Island reported a 58-mph wind gust and 18-foot waves.
Similarly, the borough of Manhattan was seeing intense snowfall rates throughout the morning, as a look at the Times Square EarthCam showed. “NYC streets and sidewalks are covered with snow in many places -- something you only see with the heaviest snowfall rates,” AccuWeather Meteorologist and senior weather editor Jesse Ferrell pointed out. He added, “Although, the lack of vehicular and foot traffic due to COVID is likely” contributing to the snow cover there.
The largely deserted streets of Times Square in New York City were blanketed in snow on Monday, Feb. 1, 2021. (EarthCam)
AccuWeather reporters Dexter Henry and Kim Leoffler are in the thick of some of the heaviest snowfall from the nor'easter. Henry reported live for the AccuWeather Network in New York City this morning where snowfall reports ranged from 5-6 inches early Monday. Meanwhile, Leoffler reported from across the river in northern New Jersey where a state of emergency is in effect. Hear more from Leoffler and Henry on the latest developments in the video below.
AccuWeather radar showed the monster nor’easter crawling up the Eastern Seaboard beginning to impact the Boston area late Monday morning. AccuWeather meteorologists expect Beantown to see about 6-12 inches of accumulation by the time snowfall wraps up. The radar also showed the heaviest band of snow extending from the Allentown area in Pennsylvania east through the New York City region and into Long Island, New York, at around 11 a.m. on Monday morning. Mixing was underway in cities farther to the south along the I-95 corridor, like Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
A motion radar image taken late in the morning on Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, showed
AccuWeather meteorologists are warning that as the nor'easter strengthens through Monday night, strong winds will blast the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts. Winds will gust 40 to 50 mph, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 65 mph, expected. Strong winds will continue into Monday and Monday night from the New Jersey coast to the southern New England coast, including Long Island, forecasters say.
As a result of the fierce winds, damage to trees and power lines will be possible. Coastal flooding, rough surf and beach erosion could occur as well. The winds are expected to gradually lessen and turn more offshore throughout Tuesday.
From a snowball fight in the nation's capital to a wintry scene on Wall Street, the nor'easter has brought accumulating snow to much of the Northeast already. And there's still lots of storm left to go. Snowplows navigating snow-covered roads have also been a common sight through the early portions of the storm, while some children are enjoying a snow day from school. Here's a glimpse of some snowy sights around the Northeast.
Giant pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian appeared to have a blast in the snowy conditions at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. on Sunday. In footage shared by the zoo, the 200-plus pound pandas can be seen frolicking throughout the snow, sliding themselves down hills and even attempting some somersaults in the slick conditions. Their cub Xiao Qi Ji was born five months ago, but the youngster wasn’t nearly as enthused by the snow as his parents, the zoo said in a statement.
While the zoo is closed to the public due to COVID-19, the panda cam inside the exhibit captured all the pair’s fun adventures in the snow. Watch below.
By 9 a.m. on Monday morning, more than 5 inches of snow had accumulated in New York City’s Central Park, the city’s official location for weather records, and the worst of the storm had yet to arrive. As WABC meteorologist Amy Freeze pointed out during her Monday-morning AccuWeather forecast, New York City’s all-time record snowfall of 27.5 inches occurred five years ago. And going back to 1888, New York City has seen six snowstorms that have each reached accumulations of 20 inches or more. So, is the city’s snowfall record in jeopardy with this storm? Probably not, according to AccuWeather forecasters. Bernie Rayno believes NYC will be “thumped” by the storm and could see 18 inches, but that the heavy snowfall will subside in the Big Apple before it piles up more than that. Still, a run at 20 inches and cracking NYC’s top six all-time snowstorms is not out of the question, AccuWeather Meteorologist and senior weather editor Jesse Ferrell said. "With nearly 7 inches on the ground and another 10-12 expected, it's entirely possible that New York City's snowfall total could get over 20 inches -- but only a small chance that it could break the record of 27.5" set in 2016,” he said. “Only 4 storms have brought more than 21 inches to Central Park since 1869."
WABC meteorologist Amy Freeze listed New York City's all-time biggest snowfall totals during her AccuWeather forecast on Monday, Feb. 1, 2021.
AccuWeather Chief Broadcast Meteorologist Bernie Rayno says New York City is going to get "thumped" as the nor'easter ramps up throughout the day on Monday. Heavy snow and gusty winds are already being reported in the Big Apple and surrounding areas, including in northern New Jersey. Listen to the latest edition of AccuWeather's Weather Insider podcast to hear Rayno's latest thoughts on snowfall accumulations in New York City and elsewhere in the Northeast.
Heavy snow on Sunday helped tie or break daily records from decades ago in parts of the Northeast. Baltimore’s daily record of 3.7 inches had stood since 1985 but was broken on Sunday after 3.8 inches were recorded at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. In Philadephia, 3 inches of snow was recorded at Philadelphia International Airport, tying a record of 3 inches previously set in 1949, according to the NWS.
Editor's note: This post has been updated to reflect new information from the National Weather Service that said Philadelphia tied a record on Sunday. Previously the NWS had said that the city set a new record with 3.4 inches.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said 3,900 pieces of snow removal equipment have been prepared to move out on Monday as needed. According to Boston 25 News, plows and trucks have been loading up with salt and sand to treat roads ahead of the bulk of the snow.
As of Monday morning, no location has seen more snow in the past 24 hours than the areas surrounding Racine, Wisconsin. The city has been inundated with lake effect snow, reaching 13.5 inches by 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Farther east, two locations saw over a foot of snow on Sunday from the storm moving up the East Coast. The town of Oakland, Maryland, reached 12 inches while Aurora, West Virginia, saw 12.5 on Sunday.
Chicago's O'Hare International Airport recorded more snow on Sunday than any other snowfall since 2015. The airport picked up 8.8 inches by noon and reached 10.8 inches of snow by early Monday morning. National Weather Service Meteorologist Brian Leatherwood told NBC Chicago that the city had already topped its season average of 10.8 inches of snow by early Sunday morning.
Snowfall is being observed along a 1,100-mile swath from Nashville to just outside of Boston. The broad area of snow is due to one storm weakening over the Ohio Valley, while another storm, which forecasters expect to become a full-blown nor'easter, develops off the mid-Atlantic coast. Winter storm warnings have been expanded to include all of northern New England as the snow spreads northeastward into Tuesday.
Snowfall intensity is picking up in the New York City metro area as a coastal storm begins to form off the mid-Atlantic coast, as AccuWeather meteorologists have been forecasting for several days. Visibility has been reduced to one-quarter of a mile at Central Park as snow comes down steadily. Snow can fall heavy at times through the day on Monday in the city, with 10-15 inches of accumulation expected by the time the last flakes fly.
A close-up look at the New York City radar as snowfall intensity increases early Monday morning, Feb. 1, 2021. (AccuWeather)
From Wisconsin to West Virginia, snowfall totals have surpassed 12 inches in just 24 hours. Aurora, West Virginia, is the westernmost location to report over a foot of snow, with 12.5 inches reported by 6 p.m. EST. Parts of Wisconsin and Illinois, including Chicago, also made it past the 12 inch mark by Saturday night.
Nonessential travel will be restricted in New York City beginning at 6 a.m. on Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Twitter. De Blasio issued a state of emergency for Monday pertaining to the severe weather that is developing in the region. Public transportation, emergency services, delivery vehicles, emergency repair vehicles and vehicles transporting people to and from work are still allowed to operate. Select commercial vehicles that receive prior approval from the city will also be allowed to use the roadways amid the orders. The Open Restaurants Program in the city will also be suspended on Monday under the emergency order. The order will remain in place for three days unless otherwise extended or revoked. A person that knowingly violates the order risks being found guilty of a class B misdemeanor.
Flight delays and cancelations are now sweeping across the Northeast. John F Kennedy International Airport in New York has canceled over 150 flights from the airport for Monday, equating to 75% of all flights originating from the airport as of 8:20 p.m. Sunday evening, according to FlightAware.com. LaGuardia Airport, also located in New York, has canceled 86% of all flights originating from the airport, equating to over 100 flights. Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey has the second highest number of cancelations for Monday at 146, equating to 68% of all flights departing from the airport. In total, 82 flights scheduled for Monday have already been delayed in the United States and 2,552 have been canceled entirely as of Sunday evening.
In preparation for the developing winter storm in the Northeast, New York state is issuing various bans and restrictions to travel. Short and long tandems will be banned on parts of the New York State Thruway beginning at 5 a.m. on Monday. The ban will specifically impact tandems traveling on I-87 from the New York City Line to Exit 24 in Albany and the entirety of both I-95 and I-287. Empty trailers will also be banned on I-87 from Exit 8 to Exit 21A, on the Berkshire Spur and on the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge. Empty trailers and tandem trailers will also be banned from the Pennsylvania state line to the Connecticut state line on I-84, as well as on Route 17 East of Binghamton to the New Jersey state line and on the entirety of I-684.
“State agencies are already in the process of deploying resources to areas expected to be the hardest hit,” Cuomo said. “While this work continues, we will remain in constant communication with our local partners to provide any support that may be necessary, as well as with utility companies to ensure power outages are immediately addressed.
Washington, D.C. Mayor Murial Bowser announced that the snow emergency in the city will come to an end at 8 p.m. on Sunday, but the impacts of the storm will still be felt on Monday. Bowser said all D.C. public schools will be attended virtually on Monday, however the government will open as regularly scheduled. In addition, all public COVID-19 testing sites will be closed on Monday. Bowser recommends that anyone experiencing symptoms should contact their doctor and stay home.
Vaccination appointments scheduled for Monday in New York City are now being postponed due to the developing storm in the Northeast. On Sunday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told a news conference that he does not want older residents traveling to vaccination appointments amid the severe weather, The New York Times reported. “We ask all New Yorkers to monitor the weather and stay off the roads tomorrow so our crews and first responders can safely do their jobs,” Melissa DeRosa, a top aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, said. DeRosa said vaccine appointments at various locations across the city will be rescheduled for later in the week.
Philadelphia Managing Director Tumar Alexander announced that a snow emergency will be in effect for the city beginning at 6 p.m. on Sunday and will cary through Tuesday. To prepare for the storm, the Streets Department will mobilize more than 400 pieces of equipment and the city has 50,000 tons of salt on deck for clearing up the snow. Snow emergency routes, primary roads and secondary roads will be the first in the city to be cleared up. Anyone whose vehicle is located on a snow emergency route should move it immediately. All trash and recycling collections in the city will also be suspended on Monday, Feb. 1 due to the inclement weather. The Office of Homeless Service in Philadelphia also issued a Code Blue, meaning they will patrol the streets in larger numbers to encourage anyone facing homelessness to come indoors during the storm.
Due to the developing winter storm, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has declared a statewide state of emergency that will begin at 7 p.m. Sunday. Murphy said officials will use every resource available to ensure the safety of residents throughout the storm. In addition, Murphy also announced that all New Jersey transit busses, railways aside from the Atlantic City Rail Line, light rail and Access Link Service will be suspended for the entire service day on Monday “due to the significant expected impacts of the snow storm.”
The storm is also impacting COVID-19 vaccinations in New Jersey. Murphy announced that all six vaccination mega-sites in the state will be closed on Monday in anticipation of the weather. All appointments made for Monday are able to be rescheduled for the same week and the vaccination call center will remain open for people to reschedule their appointments.
The snow didn't spare roadways or runways, which led to countless travel disruptions and delays. More than 100 flights were canceled in Chicago as a result of the storm, with more to come as the storm progresses. Delays of at least 15 minutes were reported Sunday morning at both O’Hare Airport and Midway Airport, according to Flight Aware. As of mid-Sunday morning, a ground stop was reported at Midway Airport in Chicago. Midway Airport recorded 7.4 inches of snow, while O'Hare Airport reported 6.8 inches by Sunday morning.
Four Virginia firefighters were taken to the hospital for minor injuries after a Henrico County fire truck overturned on a call Sunday morning due to snowy road conditions. Officials said the truck spun on the road, traveled off the paved roadway and overturned, but no other vehicles were involved in the accident.
Ahead of the first flakes in New York City, the school district announced all buildings will be closed on Monday, therefore classes will be held remotely. After-school programs, adult education, food distribution sites and other programs will be canceled as well. The Big Apple has not announced the status for schools on Tuesday, CBS New York reported.
AccuWeather meteorologists have been warning for days that as a winter storm presses into Ohio late in the weekend, a secondary storm will take shape and become a full-blown nor’easter along the Eastern Seaboard. The process was already beginning on Sunday afternoon, and heavy precipitation was developing across the mid-Atlantic. But, what exactly is a nor'easter? Simply put, a nor’easter is a large storm that spawns northeasterly winds along the East Coast of the U.S. These storms can become intense, especially if they move along cold fronts, which are marked by the collision of cold, dry air and mild, moist air over the ocean. In the most severe cases, winds triggered by a nor’easter can approach hurricane force -- 74 mph or greater -- even when these storm are non-tropical in nature. Nor'easters can form during any month of the year but are much more common, and often become more severe, between September and April. Severe nor'easters can lash the East Coast with flooding rainfall, extreme snowfall, blizzard conditions, damaging winds, rough seas and coastal flooding.
AccuWeather meteorologists warn that many of those impacts are expected in the Northeast early this week as the nor’easter chugs along the coast. "Wind gusts of 30-50 mph, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 65 mph, will create blizzard conditions at times,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Jake Sojda said. "Travel in areas from Trenton to New York City to Boston could become nearly impossible during the height of the storm from later Sunday night into Monday night."
