Way to bring in the new year…
About one-third of the nation, or approximately 100 million people in 22 states, are feeling a wintery blast of cold and mounds of snow as a monster storm, appropriately dubbed Hercules, descended on the northeast part of the nation on Thursday.
“Heaviest snow will fall from central New York to the Massachusetts coast. Blizzard conditions are possible for eastern Long Island and the Massachusetts coast. Bitter cold will move into the Midwest and East following the storm,” the Weather Service said
“Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor visibilities are likely,” the Weather Service said. “This will lead to whiteout conditions making travel extremely dangerous. Do not travel.”
But even if people wanted to, travel is nearly impossible in the midst of the new year blizzard. Around 1,300 flights have already been canceled as of Friday morning, according to FlightAware.com, a site that tracks cancellations due to weather and mechanical problems. And more than 2,200 U.S. flights were canceled on Thursday, putting a major snarl in travel plans across the nation.
But the worst will be felt in Boston. By Friday night the city is expected to be covered by 10 to 18 inches of snow and temperatures are expected to reach six degrees below zero.
Citing likely “near blizzard” conditions Friday morning, the state’s emergency management agency warned that some areas could be hit hard — including up to 2 feet of snow on parts of the North Shore and South Shore, as well as Cape Cod.
The forecast was so bad for Boston that the city canceled school for Friday two days in advance, with scores of other school districts quickly following suit.
New York is right behind. Just two days into office, newly sworn-in New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will face his first real test as he prepares for the major snowstorm.
“Stay indoors, don’t go out if you don’t have to go out,” de Blasio said Thursday.
But looks like he didn’t follow his own rules. The new mayor was caught shoveling snow right outside his own home.
Maybe he’s trying to be the new superhero AKA Cory Booker?
The city is expecting to see 6 to 12 inches of snow by Friday. Long Island will be under a blizzard warning until 1 p.m. Friday, with predictions of 8 to 10 inches of snow, wind chills as low as 10 below zero and sustained winds of at least 35 mph.
And though NYC public schools are closed, it was de Blasio’s son, Dante, who sort of spoke the snow day into existence.
He was caught sending a cheeky message to friends on Facebook, telling them he would try to persuade his mayor father to call the snow day.
Luckily “Old Man Winter” did the job for him.
SOURCE: CNN, Daily Mail | PHOTO CREDIT: Twitter, Getty
