New York, Jan 27: A disastrous blizzard has hit New York City and other areas in the north-east US bringing the normal life to a grinding halt. Forecasters have warned residents to anticipate “crippling” amounts of snow.
It is being predicted that winter Storm Juno could dump up to 76cm (30ins) in some parts of New Jersey, Maine and New Hampshire according to meteorologists.
Owing to this, all non-emergency vehicles were not plying on the roads of New York City from 23:00 on Monday (04:00 GMT Tuesday) and subway services were suspended. Likewise, in Boston and Massachusetts vehicles were abandoned.
Some 60 million people may be affected.
An emergency has been declared in the states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Demoting their snowfall predictions, some meteorologists in Pennsylvania and New Jersey have said there has been less snowfall than initially forecast.
Meanwhile, official cancellation of one winter storm warning in New Jersey has been made.
The latest developments include the annulment of 6,500 flights in and out of airports along the East Coast, and shutdown of businesses and schools.
Meteorologists warn that this could be one of the biggest storm in New York City’s history.
Speaking to the BBC on Monday, Glenn Field of the NWS in Taunton, Massachuesetts said that the storm would be worse than previously thought.
Hurricane-force winds of up to 80 mph (130km/h) would batter Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, he said.
Elaborating on the disaster, Mr Field added the heaviest snowfall would come in the early hours of Tuesday, with 15 inches expected between 01:00 and 05:00 (06:00-10:00 GMT), and 30 inches in total in parts of Massachusetts.
Streets in New York has become calm and quiet contrary to other days.
With the deteriorating weather, workers in New York left early and moved towards their own home because of warnings from officials. Snow has resulted in the shut down of the subway system for the first time.
A city that never sleeps was looking very grave and dark indeed.
The storm’s effects have reached beyond Manhattan, from New Jersey to Maine. Flooding and power blackouts are likely in Coastal areas such as Cape Cod and Long Island. Boston is also in its path.
Expressing his views about the incident, the Governor of Massachusetts termed it “a top five historic storm.
Cautioning residents against violating the driving ban in 13 southern counties of the state, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said, “If you are in your car and you are on any road, town, village, city, it doesn’t matter, after 11 o’clock, you will technically be committing a crime. It could be a matter of life and death so caution is required,” the governor said. (With Inputs From BBC)
