AP, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK TIMES, REUTERS
NEW YORK– Even before the first flake has fallen, the tabloid New York Daily News had already declared Friday that winter storm Nemo was “a pain in the butt.”
With a major blizzard predicted to begin later in the day, Newark, Boston’s Logan and New York’s La Guardia Airports had cancelled hundreds of flights by early Friday, according to FlightAware. United Airlines canceled 900 flights in advance of the storm and Delta Air Lines crossed off more than 135. Breaking News Storm tweeted last night that 1550 flights had been canceled Friday in New York and Boston; the system-wide total is past 1,900 and climbing.
The northeastern U.S. cities are preparing to be smothered by a blanket of up to 45 centimeters (18 inches) of snow, as well as strong winds, meteorologist Joe Pollina told the New York Times.
“This has the potential for being a dangerous storm, especially for Massachusetts into northeast Connecticut and up into Maine,” said Louis Uccellini, director of the National Weather Service, according to the AP.
“Accumulation is expected to be swift, heavy and dangerous,” said Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, according to Reuters. The National Weather Service said winds could gust as high as 120 kilometers per hour (75 mph) as Friday progresses.
Jerome Hauer, commissioner of New York’s division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, made his warnings clear: “This is a dangerous storm with a lot of blowing snow, and very significant winds that will make travel Friday night into Saturday almost impossible,” Reuters reported.
We’re ready for #Nemo: We have 250,000+ tons of salt on hand, 350 salt spreaders & plows ready to be put on 1,800 Sanitation trucks
— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) February 7, 2013
