NEW YORK (AP) — Cities and towns along the East Coast quickly scrambled to prepare for an onslaught of heavy snow and damaging winds after forecasters issued blizzard warnings for communities from Maryland to Massachusetts.
The National Weather Service warned that once the storm intensifies Sunday, it could prove significantly more severe than forecasts made just a few days ago.
The weather service said 12 to 24 inches of snow could fall in many areas and activated blizzard warnings for New York City and Long Island, Boston and coastal communities in New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Flooding was also possible in parts of New York and New Jersey, he said.
“While we see quite a few of these nor’easters causing heavy snow and significant impacts, it has been several years since we’ve seen this magnitude over such a large area, in this densely populated part of the country,” said Cody Snell, a meteorologist with the service’s Weather Prediction Center.
Snell explained that the storm would reach areas near Washington on Sunday morning before spreading to Philadelphia and New York City and reaching Boston in the evening.
Some of the heaviest snow was expected to fall on Sunday night.
The weather service said the storm could start as rain in some places before worsening. The heaviest snow is expected to fall on Sunday night, with up to 5 centimeters of snow per hour at times in some areas, before easing on Monday afternoon.
The weather service warned that the storm, with gusts of up to 80 kilometers per hour (55 miles per hour), could cause “no visibility” conditions that “will make travel dangerous and life-threatening.” Strong winds and the weight of snow on tree limbs could down power lines and cause sporadic power outages.”
Authorities rushed to prepare for a storm that appeared to have a much more limited impact than forecasts a few days ago.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that the city would expand the measures it used weeks ago to deal with the heavy snowfall. But authorities have temporarily postponed the decision to open schools on Monday.
“On Friday we saw that the forecast was that we were going to see maybe 3 to 4 inches of snow. That changed quickly,” Mamdani said. “So we want to make sure we make a decision based on current and accurate information.”
He added that New York has brought in additional equipment to remove snow from outside the city and plans to increase the use of geocoding to track bus stops and crossings that need to be cleared.
As the storm approached, John Berlingieri canceled plans for a family trip to Puerto Rico to prepare his company, Berrington Snow Management, for what could very well be a Herculean task: removing snow from millions of square feet of asphalt around shopping centers and industrial parks on Long Island.
Employees spent the past few days charging the batteries of the 40 bulldozers at the front of the business and replacing the windshield wipers on snow plows before taking a break Saturday.
“I expect to be able to work 24 hours a day for at least a week,” Berlingieri said. “We’re going to work 24 to 36 hours straight, sleep a few hours and then come back.”
The storm approached just as the icy remnants of a snowfall that hit the region weeks earlier were finally melting.
Authorities in Atlantic City, New Jersey, urged residents and casino-goers to stay off the streets, especially in low-lying neighborhoods prone to flooding.
“It could continue for a while, probably with about 20 streets where we know there will be water and on top of that there will be snow,” warned Scott Evans, fire chief and coordinator of the city’s emergency management operations. ‘So you can’t see it until it’s too late. So please stay home.’
Many churches have canceled Sunday services and other activities. To compensate, St. Veronica Parish in Howell, New Jersey, added an extra Mass on Saturday evening.
“Please stay safe, avoid unnecessary travel and keep each other in your prayers during the storm,” the Rev. Peter James Alindogan said online.
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Associated Press writers Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report; Julie Walker in New York; and Larry Neumeister in Brick Township, New Jersey.
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor using a generative artificial intelligence tool.
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