Tuesday, February 3, 2015

DEADLY WINTER STORM BLAMED FOR AT LEAST 16 DEATHS; IT SETS SNOW RECORDS IN BOSTON, CHICAGO, DETROIT



  



 

DEADLY WINTER STORM BLAMED FOR AT LEAST 16 DEATHS; IT SETS SNOW RECORDS IN BOSTON, CHICAGO, DETROIT

Winter Storm Linus brought freezing rain and snow to the New York today. We see what else is left.   




Snow and cold associated with Winter Storm Linus brought travel headaches for the New York City area Monday afternoon.




State police said two people were killed in a multivehicle accident that occurred in two stages on Interstate 95 in Rye. A two-vehicle accident was being investigated when a third vehicle lost control and hit the first two vehicles, the police said.



 The accident closed northbound lanes near Exit 22. Separately, three tractor-trailers jackknifed on I-95 and Interstate 87, and one flipped over on the Long Island Expressway.




Public transportation wasn't smooth either. NBC New York reports one No. 7 train was stranded without power or heat for four hours when a rail lost power and froze near the Queensboro Plaza.



"Everyone on the train was in decent spirits, since there was literally nothing we could do about it," passenger Ashley Carr told The Associated Press.



Meteorologists and city officials are concerned a sharp drop in temperatures in the evening will freeze any lingering puddles or slush on roads. 



The MTA said New York City subways, the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North were operating on a regular weekday service Monday. 




While LaGuardia Airport saw a little more than 6 inches, 10 inches fell just north of the city in White Plains. Upstate, 17 inches of snow were reported in Clarksville, 15 inches near Brockport, 8 inches in Poughkeepsie and 8.5 inches in Buffalo.




Just last week, New York officials and the National Weather Service apologized for inaccurate predictions of Winter Storm Juno, which caused much of the city to shut down for what eventually amounted to just a few inches of snow in most areas.



Information about the city's response to the storm can be found by visiting the city's severe weather website or by calling 311. 




Pennsylvania



Hidden Valley saw the highest snow total in Pennsylvania, recording at least 13 inches. Springboro and Gilford both saw at least 9 inches. 




Schools in central Pennsylvania closed Monday and the state DOT urged drivers to stay off the roads. Earlier in the day, the speed limits on Interstates 78, 81, 84, 95 and 99 were lowered to 45 mph.




Drivers can see road conditions and other real time travel information by dialing 511, visiting the 511PA website, or checking the 511PA smartphone app on their iPhone and Android devices. 




Gov. Wolf said the state Department of Transportation had 2,250 trucks, 235 rental trucks and 200 additional trucks on stand-by along with 5,400 equipment operators ready to clear roads, reports Syracuse.com. 




Patton and Harris townships both declared snow emergencies, according to CentreDaily.com.




Record Snowfall



The second brutal winter storm in a week blanketed parts of the United States in snow, leaving behind bitter cold and dangerous travel conditions. The storm, which has been nicknamed “Linus” by the Weather Channel, disrupted the start of the work week for millions of people and has been blamed for several deaths, according to ABC.




Boston was the hardest hit by the storm, receiving 40.2 inches of snow by Tuesday and setting a new record for the snowiest seven-day period in the city’s history, reported CNN. Boston typically averages around 47 inches of snowfall annually but has already received more than that in the past two weeks alone. The city has declared a snow emergency, closing all schools on Tuesday and banning on-street parking. A planned Tuesday parade celebrating the Super Bowl victory of the New England Patriots was also rescheduled for Wednesday following the storm.




Over 19 inches of snow fell in Chicago, prompting major travel delays and dangerous road conditions. 70 passengers were stuck on a commuter train just outside the city, only reaching their destination six hours later. A 45-vehicle pileup on Interstate 294 in the Chicago suburb of Hickory Hills hospitalized eight people and left many commuters embroiled in traffic late Monday. More than 16 inches of snow were reported in Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Sunday, the most for any February day in the city.




A record amount of snow was dumped on southeastern Michigan, with 16.7 inches of snow reported at Detroit Metro Airport, marking the most snow the area has received since 1974 and the third largest snowfall on record, according to Detroit’s local CBS affiliate. Several cities in the area have declared snow emergencies and hundreds of schools canceled classes for a second consecutive day.




Parts of Iowa received around 14 inches of snow, while areas of Ohio received as much as 20 inches, forcing additional school closures on Tuesday, according to Weather.com. The storm has been blamed for at least 10 deaths around the country, said CNN. A 57-year-old pedestrian in Weymouth, Massachusetts was killed Monday after being struck by a snowplow and two people died in car accidents in Nebraska Sunday as a result of slippery roads.




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Ice Danger for Millions as Linus Snowstorm Death Toll Climbs to 16


February 3, 2015




It's not over yet. Black ice and flash freezing could again make roads and sidewalks treacherous for millions on Tuesday, forecasters warned, as the death toll from this week's huge snowstorm rose to 15. 




Disruption was set to continue after two days of record-setting snow that dumped up to 18 inches on a vast swath of the country from the Midwest through to the East Coast.



Ice warnings were in effect early Tuesday all the way from southern Connecticut to Delaware and eastern Maryland, said Weather Channel lead forecaster Kevin Roth.



"Ice on the roads could be a big problem — especially earlier in the morning when it is tough to see — and on sidewalks where anybody walking could slip and fall," he said. 




The problem could be exacerbated by flash freezing in which slush from Monday's snowfall was iced over by plummeting temperatures.



Airports were still struggling to return to normal on Tuesday. At least 757 flights were canceled Tuesday, according to a 5 a.m. ET update from Flightaware, with New York La Guardia, Boston, Chicago and Newark the worst hit. 




Schools remained closed in Boston, where mayor Martin J. Walsh earlier announced the victory parade for the New England Patriots would be postponed until Wednesday to give workers more time to clear roads.



A winter storm warning remained in effect until 5 a.m. for northeastern Maine, where up to 18 inches was expected by Tuesday morning. 




There could be yet more snow later in the week for New England and upstate New York if a rainy low pressure system meets freezing air from Canada on Thursday.



Roth said eyes were turned to Thursday, when a wet weather system currently bringing rain to Texas could combine with a strong cold air blast moving across from the Plains and Midwest. 




"Along the boundary there will be light snow — an inch or two — but if they combine there could be more heavy snow for upstate New York and New England, which have already been hit hard," he said. "At the moment only one model is predicting that, so it is only a possibility at this stage." 




In total, 15 deaths have been blamed on Monday's snow and ice including a Massachusetts woman struck by a snowplow and a two Indianapolis men killed in a crash on a frozen Interstate 74 in Shelby County, Indiana. 




Three men in their early 60s died in Illinois hospitals from heart problems after collapsing when shoveling snow outside their homes, the DuPage County Coroner said in a statement. Two further men in their 60s suffered a similar fate in Wisconsin, while another collapsed while operating a snow-blower, Milwaukee County Medical office said.







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TRACTOR TRAILER TRUCK ACCIDENTS CLOSE MASS TURNPIKE AND PART OF I-91

 






Multiple tractor trailer crashes have shut down the westbound side of the Massachusetts Turnpike and closed one lane of Interstate 91 Monday night.



The crashes come after Winter Storm Linus dumped nearly a foot of snow on the region leaving roads covered with snow and ice, Massachusetts State Police officials said.




Three tractor trailer trucks crashed into each other at about 9:35 p.m. on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Charlton. One driver was trapped but was not seriously injured. The other two drivers were unhurt, police said.




All westbound lanes on the Turnpike are closed and expected to be for several hours while police and rescue workers clear the accident, he said.




One lane of Interstate 91 southbound near exit 7 in Springfield is also closed after two tractor trailer trucks crashed at about 8:25 p.m., police said.




There were no injuries in the accident. Further details of the accident were not immediately available.




Two lanes of the highway remain open so the accident is not causing traffic backups, police said.










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Flash freeze covers Northeast in black ice and makes roads a death trap as Boston is buried in record 40-inch snowfall



Frozen blasts in Pennsylvania, New York and New England have brought wind chill temperatures of -20°F



Extreme cold has prompted warnings of black ice from Philadelphia to Maine, increasing danger on highways



Pockets near the Canadian border will experience even worse cold from driving winds, with wind chills of minus 35



Boston hit with record snowfall of 40 inches in seven days; flights from Logan Airport canceled in 12°F temperatures




Five died during the storms- three killed in traffic accidents and two died from heart attacks while shoveling snow



The snowfall also forced authorities to postpone Super Bowl victory parade for New England Patriots 




The Northeast was struck by flash freezing and bitter temperatures thanks to frozen blasts of wind today, with forecasters warning the cold could coat roads in black ice and increase the risk of accidents.




Sudden bursts of cold were accompanied by record snowfall in places - including Boston, which was buried by a 40-inch downfall just days after a previous winter storm swamped the city in snow.




Weather warnings were issued from Philadelphia to Maine over the dangerous colds and the risk of black ice forming and causing deadly accidents on the roads.




Pennsylvania, New York and swathes of New England were at risk of a minus 20-degree wind chill, forecasters predicted. The figure, a combination of actual air temperature and the extra freezing power of high winds, means people are at risk of frostbite after just 30 minutes outside.




Temperatures in New York City were 17°F Tuesday morning, with 9mph wind adding to the cold. According to Weather.com, sidewalks and roads were in danger of freezing over despite chemical and salt treatments because of the extreme chill overnight.




Snows continued in the northernmost states, with up to 18 inches forecast in Maine forecast by Tuesday morning. Earlier, the snowstorm dumped more than 19 inches of snow on Chicago at least a foot on southeastern Wisconsin.



New York City's snow totals ranged from around 3.6 inches in Central Park to 7 inches in the Bronx while Long Island got 3 inches to 10 inches. 




It became more intense over New England, bringing the record dump in Boston, along with a foot of slushy wintry mix to Hartford, Connecticut, Providence, Rhode Island, southern New Hampshire and Vermont - places still reeling from the up to 3 feet they got last week.




In Massachusetts, state workers were urged to come in late to allow extra time for clearing the roads, while every train line on the Boston metro system was reporting rush-hour delays Tuesday morning.



Football fans were especially hard-hit, as the storm has forced back plans for the New England Patriots' victory parade after their last-minute triumph in Sunday's Super Bowl.  




The Arctic weather has already claimed 16 victims across the northeast and midwest of the United States.




A woman in Massachusetts was run over and killed by a snow plow in Massachusetts, while in Nebraska, a truck driver and a 62-year-old woman were killed in separate traffic accidents. A Toledo police officer and a Wisconsin 64-year-old man with a history of cardiac problems, both died after suffering a heart attack while out shoveling snow.