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Blizzard Hits Hurricane Sandy-Affected States

The massive storm that's set to slam into New England is following the same track as Hurricane Sandy and already disrupting road and air travel.

blizzard-nemo
AP/NOAA
The massive blizzard that slammed into New England and raced up the northeast coast Friday night has left hundreds of thousands without power and lstate and local governments with a mammoth cleanup.

The storm, according to CNN, left more than 600,000 people without electrical power.

The National Weather Service issued a major winter storm warning for blizzard conditions for Friday and into early Saturday that impacted the coastal sections of the northeast, from New Jersey to Maine. Coastal flood warnings are also in effect from Delaware into coastal New England.

The storm left up to three feet of snow in some areas and packed wind gusts of up to 60 mph. It is the second major weather event to hit the region in four months comes after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy that impacted 24 states from Florida to Maine and created a storm surge that hit New York City, flooding streets, tunnels and subway lines. Damage estimates for that superstorm were well over $65 billion and some areas have still not completely recovered.

Amtrak cancelled northbound trains Friday afternoon, and the major airlines have cancelled nearly 4,000 flights into and out of the states in the storm’s path.

Power companies in the targeted states are shoring up resources with extra crew members. Long Island, which was hit hard by Sandy, had more than 500 linemen already on site,  preparing for expected widespread electrical outages, CNN reported. Some 100 cars were stranded on the Long Island Expressway on Friday night as snow piled up.

Some 6,000 National Guard were on alert as well in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick had ordered all vehicles in the state off the roads by 4 p.m., Friday, but as the snow ended Saturday, it was expected that ban would be lifted.R hode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee Saturday ordered all non-emergency vehicles in his state off the streets Saturday so snowplows could clear roadways, according to CNN.

"This state had consequences, but nothing like our neighboring states," said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. He announced Saturday plans to send utility workers and snow plows to New England to help with recovery in harder hit areas.

The istorm dubbed “#Nemo” in cyberspace also sparked a tsunami of social media comments, with many tweeting about the large amounts of snow in Maine, Connecticut, Massechusetts and Rhode Island. The totals were, in some places, more than 30 inches.

 

 Ediitor's Note: This article was updated Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013.

 

 





 

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