Storm Stella: Fears of US travel chaos as thousands of flights cancelled

Whiteout conditions are likely, as New Yorkers can expect 35 to 50 miles per hour winds Tuesday morning into the afternoon.

A Nor’easter is dumping snow and pushing winds into the US East Coast early Tuesday – the beginnings of a monster storm that has placed 31 million people under a blizzard warning.

More than 6 800 flights were cancelled for Monday and Tuesday, with airports in New York, Boston, Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia hit hardest, according to the tracking service FlightAware. Their neighbors in northeastern Pennsylvania also got battered. Above-ground parts of New York City’s subway service were suspended, and Metro-North commuter service to the suburbs shut down at noon. Much of the rest of the state and surrounding area, however, is already seeing snow piling up towards the one foot mark, with much more to come.

In all, winter storm watches and warnings were in effect all the way from the mountains of North Carolina to northern ME, a distance of more than 1,000 miles.

Private forecast outfits said the National Weather Service did a good job forecasting a tough storm despite the beating the federal agency took on social media. But the chilly weather and snow some areas got Friday may prove to be just a teaser.

This week, Stella topped both those storms and pummeled Binghamton with 34.9 inches of snow as of 8 p.m. EDT Wednesday evening. Combined with winds, this creates the potential for blizzard conditions.

“This is going to be a lot of snow and it’s going to be a mess”, Baker said. She said winds will be between 10 and 20 miles per hour with gusts topping 35 miles per hour. New Jersey utility PSE&G said they restored power to more than 40,000 residents since the storm began yesterday, and repaired multiple downed power lines and dealt with fallen trees.

Portions of Pennsylvania are being hammered by the storm, with Gov. Tom Wolf placing speed restrictions on some highways in the eastern part of the state. NY and New Jersey have declared a state of emergency. By late Tuesday afternoon, Central Park was covered with a little more than 7 inches of snow with rain and sleet still falling. Philadelphia was forecast to see 8-14 inches. That’s why the heaviest snow cut across the Hudson Valley and Berkshire Hills of MA. Some areas could pickup 2 feet of snow by the time the storm makes it’s way out of the area. Warm air aloft melts snow before it can fall. Winter storm warnings and watches have been hoisted over a region stretching from West Virginia into Maine.

NY time on Monday to 978 millibars as of 2:30 p.m. Tuesday just off Long Island. According to city officials, buses will still run even if the governor declares a snow emergency.