A slow-moving winter storm blanketed a large swath of the Plains and Midwest in snow Sunday, forcing the cancellation of roughly 2,000 flights, making roads treacherous and forcing some people to rethink their plans to attend Super Bowl parties.
Blizzard conditions developed in Chicago — where more than a foot was expected by evening — and other Midwest locales as the system crept eastward into Pennsylvania and western New York state. Parts of New England still digging out from a storm early last week were readying for yet another round of snow today.
Here’s the outlook:
The storm
The snowstorm is expected to be the most far-reaching of the season to date, stretching from Nebraska to Maine, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters also said it was moving unusually slowly, meaning accumulations of between 10 to 16 inches of snow were possible for parts of northern Illinois, Indiana and northwest Ohio. Similar amounts are expected for the Northeast. “It’s not wise to travel, unless you have an emergency,” said David Beachler a National Weather Service meteorologist in the Chicago area.
Travel and outages
More than 1,950 flights were canceled in the Midwest, the vast majority of which were flights in or out of Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway international airports. At Detroit Metropolitan Airport, more than 350 departing flights were canceled, and more delayed. About 20 flights were canceled from Omaha’s Eppley Airfield. The winds — gusts up to 45 mph were expected in the Chicago area — made road travel tricky too. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner cautioned against any travel and put state agencies on alert. The weather led to power outages Sunday, including roughly 18,000 ComEd customers in Illinois and nearly 8,000 northern Indiana homes and businesses. In Nebraska, a truck driver and a 62-year-old woman were killed in separate traffic accidents on snowy roads.
Not again!
Parts of New England — still recovering from a blizzard early last week that buried the region in snow — braced for today’s snowfall. The weather service said that many parts of New England could get between 8 and 14 inches of snow and that parts of western Massachusetts and Connecticut could get as much as 16 inches. Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ordered a delayed opening for state offices and Boston schools were scheduled to be closed. Philadelphia International Airport officials said they were gearing up to deal with the winter storm expected overnight, including pre-treating runways with chemicals. A winter storm warning was in effect for New York City starting at 7 p.m. Sunday and was expected to remain in effect until this evening. Mayor Bill de Blasio said residents should be ready for a snowy and icy commute.
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