NWS: 18-24 inches for Burlington and Lower Bucks; 14-18 for parts of Bucks, Montco Staff and wire reports The National Weather Service increased its projected snow totals to 18 to 24 inches for much of Burlington County and portions of Lower Bucks from a two-part storm coming Monday and Tuesday. Much of the rest of Bucks and Montgomery County could see 14-18 inches, with 10 to 14 inches for parts of Upper Bucks and Western Montco, the weather service said. There has been a significant increase in forecast snow amounts from yesterday’s forecast, the NWS at Mount Holly said in its Sunday afternoon briefing. There remains some uncertainty with the western extent of the highest snow totals. While there could be some light snow tonight and during Monday mornings commute that could bring a couple inches, the bulk of the storm is expected Monday afternoon into Tuesday. Very hazardous conditions are expected from Monday afternoon through midday Tuesday, NWS said. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation planned to have hundreds of trucks out salting the roads before the first storm — and even more when the larger one rolls through. PennDOT spokesman Brad Rudolph said about 350 trucks would be operating in the five-county Philadelphia area during the night, and major roads had already been pretreated with brine solution to minimize the impact of snow on the ground. No speed restrictions had been issued for roads but that would change if conditions are worse than expected, Rudolph said. This first storm is pretty typical; it will be a messy morning commute but it should be passable, he said. Officials would decide Monday what actions to take with the storm rolling in that night and could elect to order a full callout of 444 trucks during that night, Rudolph said. People were being urged to avoid travel if possible and to watch their speed while on the roads during adverse conditions. Philadelphia International Airport spokeswoman Diane Gerace said some airlines had announced plans to reduce operations and cancel flights beginning Monday afternoon, so people should check on flights before coming to the airport. Chemicals will be used to treat runways and taxiways before the storms, she said. The storm, which the National Weather Service called potentially historic, could dump 2 to 3 feet of snow from New Jersey to Connecticut. A blizzard warning was issued for New York and Boston as well as northeast New Jersey, and the National Weather Service said the massive storm would bring heavy snow and powerful winds starting Monday and into Tuesday. This could be a storm the likes of which we have never seen before, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio at a news conference Sunday. De Blasio held up a piece of paper showing the citys top 10 snowstorms and said this one could land at the top of a list that goes back to 1872. Dont underestimate this storm. Prepare for the worst, he said as he urged residents to plan to leave work early Monday. Boston is expected to get 18 to 24 inches of snow, and Philadelphia could see 14 to 18 inches, the weather service said Sunday. A weekend storm that had brought snow and slush to the Northeast — the first real snow of the season for many areas — was just a warm up. Looks like our luck is about to run out, said John Paulsen as he gassed up his sport utility vehicle in New Jersey. I cant complain too much since weve had a pretty mild winter, but I dont know if Im ready for a foot or so of snow all at once. The storm system driving out of the Midwest brought snow to Ohio on Sunday and was expected to ultimately spread from the nations capital to Maine. Lesser totals were forecast for the Washington area — a coating or a bit more — with steadily increasing amounts expected as the storm plods its way north. The storm promised treacherous travel by both land and air throughout the busy northeast corridor. At New Yorks Penn Station, Cicero Goncalves was waiting for a train to Vermont, where hes going snowboarding, because he expected the flight he had hoped to take would be canceled. But the 34-year-old flight attendant from Queens counted himself and his travel partner as lucky. Well get there before it snows, and were coming back when the storm is over, on Thursday, he said. Preparations large and small were in effect elsewhere in New York. A Manhattan Home Depot store sold about twice as many shovels over the weekend as it normally does while transit officials hoping to keep the subways running smoothly planned to use modified subway cars loaded with de-icing fluid to spray the third rail that powers trains. Farther north, a blizzard warning was issued for Boston from Monday night through early Wednesday. Wind gusts of 60 mph or more are possible on Cape Cod, forecasters said. Wyatt Baars, manager of the Charlestown Ace Hardware in Boston, sold out of his bags of ice-melting pellets. But he said a New Hampshire distributor is helping him and delivering more. Everybody is preparing for the storm, he said. When we have something this big on the horizon, everybody comes in for the ice melt, snow shovels, snow brooms. Snow plow driver Al Laplant expected to be out clearing roads of Simsbury, Connecticut this week, just as he has for more than two decades. Well be out there until the storms over and then at least three hours after cleaning up, he said as he attended a home show in Hartford. Well be out there through the whole storm. But even for a plow driver, the snow is no cake walk. Its kind of exhilarating, he said. But at the same time, Ive been doing it for 27 years, so Im kind of tired of it myself.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 22:46:59 +0000
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