A fierce winter storm on Wednesday hit the Northeast, dumping more than 2 feet of snow in some areas and leaving more than 1 million customers without power.
March 8 (UPI) — A fierce winter storm continued to pummel the Northeast early Thursday, dumping more than 2 feet of snow in isolated areas and cutting power to hundreds of thousands on the Eastern Seaboard.
Hundreds of flights were canceled and the wet, heavy snow downed trees and power lines. Nearly 5 inches fell in New York City and parts of eastern Pennsylvania received several inches, as well.
The storm was expected to intensify as it moved northeast on Thursday, forecasters said.
«A strong nor’easter impacting New England will lift up across the Gulf of Maine today and then gradually weaken tonight and Friday as the center of low pressure then moves inland,» the National Weather Service said in a Thursday morning forecast . «Additional heavy snow is expected across interior portions of the Northeast, and especially northern New England with additional snowfall amounts of 12 to 18 inches expected.»
It’s the second nor’easter to hit the region in less than a week. Last Friday, the same region was hit by a winter storm that killed seven people and cut power to more than 2 million homes and businesses.
The nor’easter that arrived Wednesday delivered a few inches of snow to parts of Delaware and Maryland, and dumped 26 inches in Sloatsburg, N.Y., within a 24-hour period. A record 6 inches of snow was recorded at Philadelphia International Airport, one of many that saw significant flight cancellations and delays.
More than 2,500 flights were affected at airports in Boston, Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey. More than 1,500 cancellations occurred at New York’s LaGuardia and Newark-Liberty International Airport alone — and Amtrak suspended service between New York City and Boston until 10 a.m. Thursday.
Rain and some coastal flooding was also reported in pockets of the Northeast.
The storm also resulted in one death in Suffern, N.Y., where an 88-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree. Police said rescue efforts were difficult because of live power wires.
Icy conditions left many states with treacherous roads, including New Jersey, where state police responded to more than 50 multiple-vehicle crashes because of the ice.
Rescuers on snowmobiles attended to stranded drivers on New Jersey Route 280 and Route 78, some of whom had been trapped for hours .
Thunder and lightning during the snowstorm, known as thundersnow, was reported across the region. In New Jersey, a teacher struck by lightning outside of a middle school was listed in stable condition, according to police.
Carbon monoxide poisoning led to 10 people being hospitalized in White Plains, New York, after a generator was powered inside a home.
