A second winter storm in three days has created hazardous travel conditions, slathering roads and runways in the Northeast and Midwest with more snow, sleet and layers of ice on Wednesday. The severe weather paralyzed air travel, suspended rail service and caused multiple serious car accidents from Washington to Boston.
More than 2,000 flights into and out of airports in the United States were canceled Wednesday, on top of the thousands of flights that were scratched earlier this week, according to FlightAware.com’s online flight tracker. At the major airports in New York, New Jersey and Boston, more than 40 percent of the scheduled flights have been suspended. Hundreds more are delayed.
In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie declared a state of emergency. Gov. Andrew Cuomo imposed a vehicle ban on Interstate 84 from Pennsylvania to Connecticut. Public schools were closed in Philadelphia and Boston and much of the New York metropolitan area. Connecticut state lawmakers delayed the scheduled opening of their annual session.
Officials from the National Weather Service posted on Twitter:
Power outages affecting hundreds of thousands of people are being reported in parts of New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania as ice accumulates on power lines and snaps tree branches.
Outside of Philadelphia, Chester County officials reported:
In Connecticut, Gov. Dan Malloy urged private employers to keep workers off the road.
While the main contributors to the travel problems south of Connecticut were sleet and freezing rain, New England is bracing for more significant snow accumulation.
The Washington Post’s Capitol Weather Gang blog reported slippery roads and sidewalks in the Washington area. Icy conditions were causing problems and power outages in western Loudoun County, Va., and in northern Maryland, the blog said.
The storm is expected to move out later today. But forecasters from the weather service are warning that an even bigger storm with even more snow, is on its way this weekend.
