flight travel: 'Wave after wave of snow' to pummel New England

Friday, March 8, 2013

'Wave after wave of snow' to pummel New England - U.S. News

NBC News

A house collapsed on Plum Island, Mass. shortly before 9 a.m. Friday morning.

By Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News

New England residents hunkered down Friday as a late-season storm dumped close to two feet of snow in some areas, with the system moving out to sea Friday afternoon.

The storm also brought high winds that battered Nantucket, Martha?s Vineyard, and Long Island, the Weather Channel reported. A winter storm warning remained in effect for the region through 1 p.m., with snowfall expected to lessen through the afternoon. Some parts of central Massachusetts and Connecticut could stand to close out the blustery day with nearly two feet of fresh snow, the National Weather Service predicted in an increase over earlier estimates.

?We are watching a conveyor belt of wave after wave of snow coming in over the Atlantic,? Alan Dunham, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told The Associated Press.

The Massachusetts town of Mansfield reported 14 inches and Rockland had a foot, according to the National Weather Service. A seaside house on Plum Island, about 40 miles north of Boston, was listing at a 45-degree angle after being battered by waves, WHDH reported.

??I?ve owned the house for a long, long time,? homeowner Stephen Bandoian told WHDH in a phone interview from Florida. ?It was a great home, it was a great place, and now it?s gone.?

The accumulation of wet snow on trees and power lines ? combined with gusty winds ? led to isolated power outages. About 12,000 residents were without power on Friday, Connecticut Light & Power reported. Massachusetts utility provider NStar reported 2,845 outages and National Grid said 5,364 were without power on Friday afternoon. Hundreds of Connecticut schools closed or delayed openings.

Power on Boston?s Tobin Bridge was knocked out Friday morning, according to WHDH. Traffic was not affected, but people were stuck in the bridge?s elevators, the station reported. The state put 2,800 snow-removal trucks and plows out to clear roadways, transportation secretary Richard Davey told the Boston Globe.

?It?s pretty bad out,? homeowner Steve Smith told NBC Connecticut. ?I had trouble getting out of my driveway today.?

The weather meant a change of footwear for Lisa Parisella of Beverly, Mass., where there were six inches on the ground early Friday. ?I was thinking, March, ready to take out the sandals, and I?m taking out the boots again,? she said.

Commuters slid into work on wet, sloshy snow in New York and New Jersey. Central Park in Manhattan had 4 inches of accumulation late Friday morning, the Weather Channel reported, as residents of Passaic County, N.J., dug out from 7 inches of snow. The Bronx received 7 inches and parts of Westchester County were hit with more than a foot.

More than 141 flights had been canceled for New York?s LaGuardia airport, 106 at Newark Liberty International, and 97 at Logan in Boston as of 2:45 p.m. Friday, according to airline tracker Flight Aware.

The weather was forecasted to turn milder over the weekend, with meteorologists saying that temperatures on Saturday could break 50 degrees in the tri-state area. Highs would hover around the low 40s in Boston, the Weather Channel predicted.

The storm swept through the Midwest and up from the Mid-Atlantic earlier in the week, taking its toll in several states. A Virginia man died after his car slid off an icy road, and two North Carolina boaters remained missing offshore.

NBC News? Jason Cumming and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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