New Yorkers hunker down ahead of impact of massive snow storm
A woman walks in heavy falling snow during a winter storm striking East Coast of the United States on Monday on the upper west side of Manhattan in New York City.
Instead of shuttered schools and giving students snow days, the latest winter storm is shutting down vaccination sites and snarling other pandemic-related services in many states that could see as much as a foot of snow.
Lara Pagano, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said a big storm along the East Coast of the United States developing off the mid-Atlantic coast will be a “pretty slow mover” as it brings heavy snow and strong winds through Tuesday.
“It’s going to be a prolonged event,” Pagano said.
As of Monday morning, some areas had already gotten 3 to 5 inches (7.6 to 12.7 centimeters) of snow, with 6 inches in parts of Pennsylvania, she said. In parts of New Jersey, 7 inches already was reported as of Monday morning.
In-person learning was canceled in school districts across the Northeast on Monday, and many COVID-19 vaccination sites were closed.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday morning that he hoped city-run vaccination sites would be able to reopen on Tuesday.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy also issued a state of emergency ahead of the storm’s expected arrival, allowing authorities to close roads, evacuate homes and commandeer equipment needed for public safety.
“Charge your devices, and if you experience a power outage — report it immediately,” he urged New Jersey residents on Twitter.
Philadelphia also declared a snow emergency, closing city government buildings on Monday and ordering residents to move their cars off snow emergency routes so the plows can get through.
“Philly, please be safe and look out for each other,” Mayor Jim Kenney tweeted.
The storm is expected to hit Maine today, where it will drop between 8 and 13 inches of snow, as well as sleet.
The storm hit mountainous parts of California with more than 6 feet of snow and heavy rain last week.
The extreme weather led a chunk of Highway 1 to collapse into the sea, following a landslide in an area near the mountainous Big Sur coastline in the central part of the western state.
The snow later moved on to the Midwest, dumping about 8 inches of snow in Chicago, according to the NWS.
Snowfall began overnight Saturday to Sunday in Washington. A winter storm warning from the NWS predicted between 3 and 5 inches in the area around Washington and Baltimore, Maryland.
The storm is expected to continue in the region until today, capping off with a mixture of ice, sleet and freezing rain.
President Joe Biden met with advisors on Sunday to discuss “a range of issues, including the approaching winter storm,” as well as COVID-19 vaccines and economic relief, according to a White House official.
Meanwhile, Washington residents hurried outside to enjoy the snow, building giant snowmen near the National Mall, going sledding and having snowball fights.
“I feel like a kid on Christmas,” said Emilee Truitt, a student from Alabama interning in the capital.
“I woke up really giddy this morning, excited to go out and see the snow for the first time.”
It wasn’t just the humans of Washington who were out to have some snowy fun.
At Smithsonian’s National Zoo, giant pandas made the most of the winter flurry, frolicking in the snow and rolling and sliding down a slope in their enclosure.
