Snow Storm Hits Home: get ready to feel hateful

New York City

MYFOXNY.COM - New York City and Long Island along with New Jersey are being hit hard.

Heavy snow with winds gusting 40-50 m.p.h. caused nearly impossible travel, especially along coastal areas. The brunt of the storm, with the heaviest snow and highest winds, was  from 5PM to 5AM Sunday. Around a foot of snow in the city was expected.

The city has 350 salt spreaders, 2,000 snowplows and 250,000 tons of rock salt at its disposal.

The MTA was putting its fleet of snow and ice-busting equipment into action to ensure minimal disruption to services over the weekend. The fleet includes superpowered snow throwers, jet-powered snow blowers and de-icing cars.

On Long Island up to 18 inches of snow was expected in some areas. Whereas other areas nearby received winter storm warnings, a blizzard warning was issued for Long Island.

Gate delays were being reported at Newark Liberty International, as well as LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy in New York.

A winter storm warning was in effect for most of the region through early Sunday, while coastal flood warnings and high surf advisories were also in effect.  Officials across the area stressed that car travel should be limited as street and road cleanup may not happen fast enough as the storm intensifies.

NYC is still being talked about Winter weather socking NYC

NYC

New York City and its suburbs are preparing to get walloped by the snowstorm that has crippled travel and caused power outages across the East Coast.

Stores closed early and driving became treacherous as snow began sticking to the roads. There were minor delays at the area's three major airports.

National Weather Service meteorologist Patrick Maloit says that the storm will drop about 8 to 10 inches of snow on the city. A blizzard was expected to hit the Long Island suburbs, with 12 to 18 inches forecast.

Snow was dropping steadily by about 6:30 p.m.

Maloit says the area will get hit with the brunt of the storm in the next hour or two as a band of heavy snow moves northward.

Five deaths appeared to have been caused by the storm system, which stretched from the Carolinas north to New England and also spread into some Midwestern states. The 14 inches of snow that fell at Reagan National Airport outside Washington was the most ever recorded for a single December day, while about 9 inches had fallen in Philadelphia.

Those who did venture out were treated to nearly desolate stores on what is usually one of the busiest shopping days of the year. There were virtually no lines to get a picture with a mall Santa on the last weekend before Christmas.

The National Guard used Humvees to rescue stranded motorists in Virginia and some 500 people had sought warmth and refuge in emergency shelters.

"The snow has not stopped falling, the storm isn't over, and folks should not think this is crying wolf," said Laura Southard, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

More than two feet of snow fell in some areas since yesterday, and the nation's capital was under a blizzard warning. Public transportation nearly ground to a halt, but it wasn't enough to keep senators from staying in session to debate health care reform.

The slow-moving storm was headed to the Northeast, where forecasters said parts of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachussetts could see more than 16 inches by Sunday night. Forecasters expected the storm to drop as many as 10 inches on New York City.

Snowplows cleared the runway at Andrews Air Force Base in suburban Washington as President Barack Obama returned from climate talks in Copenhagen. The White House said Obama rode in a motorcade back to the White House, instead of taking his helicopter, because of the conditions.

The region was virtually a sea of white. The Smithsonian Institution closed its museums, and the National Mall, which normally would be swarming with tourists, instead was the scene of snowball fights and cross-country skiers.

It's Coming...Weatherman Predict City's First Snow Storm of Winter (we all expected to see this)

New York City

NEW YORK, NY December 18, 2009 —The weather outside tomorrow could be frightful if Old Man Winter has his way. A winter storm is expected to blanket the metropolitan area with snow starting Saturday and continuing through Sunday.

Depending on the path of the storm, there could be accumulations of one to three inches in the city, and six to 12 inches in New Jersey and Long Island. A winter storm watch is in effect for Saturday.

There is one bright spot: The harsh weather forecast has forced New York City Transit to cancel all weekend construction work and the subway detours planned to accommodate it. The exception is along the Q line in Brooklyn, where four platforms will remain closed until sometime next year for a major rehabilitation project.

The Buildings Department is advising contractors and property owners to secure construction sites because of the possibility of high winds and heavy snowfall.

And for football fans, New Jersey officials are warning it could be tricky getting to Sunday's Jets game against the Falcons. The 1 p.m. start time could coincide with snow plowing in the parking lot if the storm continues into Sunday, limiting the number of parking spots.

Officials are hoping more fans will choose to use the new rail connections from Hoboken and Secaucus to the Meadowlands.