More than 1,300 flights have been canceled due to a major storm threatening to slam the mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions beginning Wednesday night.
Close to 50 million people have been placed under winter storm advisories due to the massive storm, which began Sunday in the Pacific Northwest. Up to a foot of snow is expected in New York City, with smaller amounts expected in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Boston. The storm will bring a wintry mix to states between Maine and Virginia.
Sprawling #NorEaster just getting going across Mid-Atlantic and Appalachians. Winter Storm Warnings posted from North Carolina to Maine where locally TWO FEET of snow is expected for parts of PA and Southern NY. Impressive system. #PAwx #NYwx #NJwx #CTwx #MAwx #MEwx pic.twitter.com/Q2bOiVTQdO
— Jeremy Kappell (@JeremyKappell) December 16, 2020
Meteorologists expect the storm to be one of the biggest that New York state has seen in half a decade and predict it will bring more sleet and snow to the state than what was recorded all of last winter.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy echoed the prediction and warned residents of his state that the storm is “major.”
“We’re not standing here without a high degree of confidence that this is a significant storm,” Murphy said to reporters on Wednesday. “If you don’t have a good reason to go out, just don’t go out. Don’t tempt fate here.”
High impact winter storm ahead for parts of the Northeast U.S. Some 1-2 foot snow totals are likely; major travel disruptions likely. pic.twitter.com/B0BCWXK69x
— James Spann (@spann) December 16, 2020
The Weather Channel shared an update from Pennsylvania on Wednesday evening, where local meteorologists recorded almost 6 inches of snow.
?️ Snow Drought NO MORE! ?️
Philadelphia just clocked in at 5.7″ of snow so far today! pic.twitter.com/ibpQ9aHkZh
— Weather Underground (@wunderground) December 17, 2020
Snow, sleet and freezing rain is moving north and east across the mid Atlantic region late this morning. Here are the latest snowfall and ice accumulation forecasts for the storm. pic.twitter.com/D6oTJ9bzAq
— NWS Eastern Region (@NWSEastern) December 16, 2020
The large amount of expected snow in New York City caused city schools to shut down temporarily in preparation. Dangerous weather conditions caused a series of car crashes along the I-95 corridor, including one in Pennsylvania, which resulted in the death of two people.
As of 9:30 p.m. Wednesday night, New Jersey reported over 13,000 power outages, and Virginia had over 49,000, according to poweroutage.us.
