NEW YORK (Reuters) - The second winter storm within a week crept into New York and surrounding states on Wednesday, with forecasters predicting intensifying snowfall that could snarl the evening rush hour as thousands remained without power from the last nor’easter.
Between 8 and 12 inches (20 and 30 cm) of wet, heavy snow, some of it accompanied by thunder and lightning, were forecast for New York City and the surrounding suburbs in New Jersey and Connecticut through to Thursday morning. Wind gusts could create “near-whiteout conditions” for commuters, the National Weather Service said.
The service bumped up its snowfall estimates on Wednesday morning, with up to 2 feet (60 cm) expected in some inland parts of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
The storm will spread with varying degrees of intensity across the Northeast, from western Pennsylvania up into New England, and officials took precautions.
Around half of all scheduled flights were canceled at the three major airports serving New York City, according to the tracking service FlightAware.
All schools were closed in Philadelphia while schools across the region canceled classes or shortened the school day ahead of the storm, local news media reported. Schools stayed open in New York City.
Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy ordered many state workers to head home early on Wednesday afternoon at staggered intervals to avoid traffic snarls on slippery roads.
This week’s storm was not forecast to have the hurricane-strength winds whipped up at times by the storm last week, but forecasters say strong gusts of 60 miles per hour (96.56 km per hour) and accumulated snow will still be enough to knock down more power lines.
Some 100,000 homes and businesses in the region remained without power on Wednesday.
The governors of New Jersey and Pennsylvania declared states of emergency, giving them access to support from the U.S. government if needed.
The Amtrak passenger train service canceled some Wednesday trains between Washington and Boston, as well as some services in Pennsylvania and other parts of the Northeast.
The storm got off to a slow, drizzly start in New York City, with Michelle Boone, 50, not even bothering to unfurl her umbrella as she waited for a bus to her job at a Manhattan homeless shelter.
“This evening could be different, though,” she said, saying she was prepared for a tougher slog home.
By lunchtime, the snowfall had quickened and thickened, and the umbrellas were out.
Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; additional reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York and Barbara Goldberg in Maplewood, New Jersey; editing by Scott Malone and Jonathan Oatis