Heavy Rains and High Winds from New England and the Great Lakes to the Northeast: A Homeland Security Warning from New Jersey and a Threat to the Electricity Grid
The storm, spanning from the Great Lakes to Texas and from the Northwest to New England, subjected about 60% of the U.S population, or more than 200 million people, to winter weather advisories or warnings on Friday.
The National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center said weekend “temperatures will be 25 to 35 degrees below average from east of the Rockies to the Appalachians.”
The weather forecast agency warned of dangerous wind chills across central and eastern parts of the U.S., and said the severe weather “will create a potentially life-threatening hazard for travelers that become stranded, individuals that work outside,” livestock and pets.
Heavy precipitation to impact the Pacific Northwest and the Northern High Plains is forecast by the NWS.
At least six people were killed in vehicle crashes, with four people dead in a pileup on the Ohio Turnpike.
Parts of the south not seen in more than 25 years were affected by the blast. Friday was the first time in over 20 years that temperatures in Nashville fell below zero.
Meanwhile, WPLN’s Paige Pfleger reported that plunging temperatures are putting pressure on a power grid not accustomed to this cold, and that the Tennessee Valley Authority has asked local utilities to cut their electricity use. Nashville customers will experience power cuts every few hours until the load calms down.
Scott Aaronson, vice president of security and preparedness at the Edison that getting the power restored in weather like this is a significant challenge.
It can be difficult to get to these areas when there are downed power lines and trees. You’re asking about… A person cannot ride up in a bucket truck if the wind is higher than 35 miles an hour. The ability of crews to get out there will be limited by all of those things.
Heavy rains and high winds wreaked havoc in New Jersey, causing flooding that reached as high as 9 feet along the coast. Interior locations along the Hudson River also flooded.
“This is a life-threatening dangerous event,” Hochul said Friday afternoon at a news conference in Albany. Protect yourselves, protect your families. Don’t go until the roads are reopened, you know it’s safe.
The storm is causing havoc for holiday travelers across the U.S, with nearly 1,500 flight cancellations so far Saturday morning, according to FlightAware. That follows nearly 6,000 cancellations and more than 11,000 delayed flights on Friday.
“So that, unfortunately, really affects anyone who’s got a connecting flight and we’re going to see a lot of people missing their connecting flights with these long delay times,” he said.
Cone Idahoson Asks New York City Customers to Conserve Energy During the Weak December Snowstorm of April 6 – 10: Associated Press
Mary Louise Kelly of NPR, and David Schaper of the AP were involved in the report.
The storm’s unusual duration fueled its devastating impact, as it struck highly populated areas, and raged all day on Friday and all day Saturday. Howling winds drove mounds of snow more than six feet high, burying front porches and parked vehicles. Mr. Poloncarz said that of the emergency responders who became stuck themselves in the worst-hit areas, two-thirds were unable to reach people.
At least three people died in Erie County, two of them because emergency responders could not reach them in time, as whiteout conditions left roads so choked with snow that even snowplows could not clear them.
“This may turn out to be the worst storm in our community’s history, surpassing the famed Blizzard of ’77 for its ferocity,” Mark Poloncarz, the Erie County executive, said on Saturday.
Emergency workers were still rescuing people from cars as darkness fell on Saturday — some of them trapped since Friday. Some residents were going to be without power again as the snow continued to fall, no safe way to get to a shelter elsewhere.
A number of customers in the Buffalo area remained without electricity on Saturday. Utility crews were expected to fix some power substations by Saturday night, but he cautioned that some may not be restored until late Monday. The Erie County Sheriff’s Department said that emergency workers made at least 50 rescues from houses and cars between Friday and Saturday.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/12/24/us/winter-storm-snow-weather/con-edison-asks-new-york-city-customers-to-conserve-energy
Weather forecasts for NYC during the fourth day of the winter storm, and the deaths of at least 17 people killed in Chicago, Houston, and New York, according to NYT
The struggle was complicated by drivers ignoring travel bans and becoming stuck or stranded, blocking roads cleared for emergency traffic, Mr. Poloncarz said.
County officials urged people to stay put, even without heat or power, and asked the National Guard to assist with rescue operations. Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, said the airport is closed until Monday.
“Everyone knows I am from Buffalo and they always ask me, ‘Oh, you’re from Buffalo, you’re used to this.’” said Tommy Bellonte, who came back from his home in Buffalo to check on his neighbor. You can not get used to it.
Millions of people remained under warnings on Saturday following the fourth day of the storm. Half a million homes and businesses were still in the dark up and down the East Coast at midday Saturday, according to the website poweroutage.us; by day’s end, the total had declined to 320,000. Maine was the hardest hit, with 162,000 customers without service.
Some residents in the beachfront areas of New York City could have to leave for Christmas after the storm surge caused flooding in the Rockaways.
At least 17 deaths were attributed to the storm, including a dozen in traffic accidents across four states. In Castleton, Vt., a 51-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree, local police confirmed. In the Chicago area, a 54-year-old man died of hypothermia, a spokeswoman for the Cook County medical examiner said. The mayor of Houston said that a homeless person died trying to set a fire to stay warm.
As the cold tightened its grip, cities and towns opened warming shelters in fire stations and school gymnasiums, and residents sought shelter, some after spending Friday night in unheated homes, huddled under blankets and clustered around fireplaces in the dark.
After a day without power, Shantel Moncrief and her husband attempted to sleep in their apartment in south Nashville on Friday night layered in sweaters and blankets. They moved into their car at 2 a.m., and then moved to her mother’s house after 6 a.m.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/12/24/us/winter-storm-snow-weather/con-edison-asks-new-york-city-customers-to-conserve-energy
Con Edison Asks New York City Customers to Conserve Energy: Frank Anderson’s Christmas Eve Expenditure in the Snow on the Fourth Day
Travelers were scheduled to spend Christmas Eve in hotels or at La Guardia Airport in New York after more than 50 flights were canceled on Saturday.
Misty and Dan Ellis arrived at the airport for check-in at 3 a.m. with their teenage children. The flight was canceled and each member of the family was flown on another flight, according to Mr. Ellis.
The family rented a car and drove to their home in Nashville. Mr. Ellis didn’t mind paying the cost.
As darkness fell in Western New York on Saturday and temperatures crept even lower, thousands of utility workers and plow drivers faced another long night of work to restore power and clear roads. With snow forecast to continue, and travel bans still in effect, stores were empty of last-minute shoppers, and streets mostly silent.
Frank Anderson, a prison guard, was stuck in the snow in his large white pickup truck for the second time since he finished his shift.
He had a spare sweater in the back seat and a New York State community supervision emblem on his work jacket, but still found his truck stuck on Hertel Avenue, his tires spinning on ice, as he tried to make his way back to his family. He was about “a mile from home” in the suburb of Tonawanda.
“I’m going to miss Christmas with my people,” he said, the truck and heat still running as he sat inside in the middle of the unplowed road packed with feet of snow.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/12/24/us/winter-storm-snow-weather/con-edison-asks-new-york-city-customers-to-conserve-energy
Report on Euan Ward, Eliza Fawcett, Isabella Grullón Paz, Bob Chiarito, Ellen Yan, April Rubin, Sharon Dunten and Maria Jimenez Moya
Euan Ward , Eliza Fawcett , Isabella Grullón Paz , Bob Chiarito, Jamie McGee, Ellen Yan, April Rubin, Sharon Dunten and Maria Jimenez Moya contributed reporting.