Frosty cityscapes and icy beauty after winter storm Stella

States of emergency had been lifted in NY and New Jersey.

The storm was expected to dump 12 to 18 inches of snow on the New York City metro area with wind gusts of up to 55 miles per hour.

Looks like nanny ninnies are running the National Weather Service, and they’re too timid to level with the public.

For you as an individual, the changing forecast doesn’t really alter your best course of action: stay home, find blankets, ensure your laptop is fully charged, and fire up Netflix. Plunging overnight temperatures threatened to turn the snow, sleet and sloppy mix into a slippery mess, raising fears of black ice for morning motorists and slick sidewalks for pedestrians.

The weather system dumped a swath of snow on parts of the Midwest before moving east across the country on Monday.

After being canceled earlier in the day, above-ground parts of New York City’s subway service and some Metro-North commuter trains to the suburbs resumed in the evening.

NY was likely to get another 1 to 3 inches of snow and sleet through the afternoon.

After the storm, Baker said some people in the administration were “scratching our heads”, since the storm was less intense than anticipated.

“It was clear that the storm was not as serious in that area”, he said.

The models forecasting less snow proved correct. “You’re telling us you believe one thing when you believe another. Lots of misses of piling up”.

“Overall the range of the forecast was very solid”. Companies saw workers stay home.

Graphic courtesy of the National Weather Service.

Meanwhile, casualties had already been noted in the affected areas.

Tens of millions of residents from Maryland to ME faced a “rapidly intensifying Nor’easter” that was rare for its arrival in mid-March, just a week before the official end of winter, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). But it’s a risky strategy that can cost credibility. In Boston up to a foot was predicted but only 6.6 inches hit the ground. The public is smarter than given credit for, can understand uncertainty if it’s well-explained, and appreciates knowing about changes to the forecast.

In New Jersey, parts of Atlantic City and nearby towns were hit by tidal floods, shutting down roads.

“We are not children”, said Jill Nelmark. “Mother Nature still makes its own decisions”, he added. “I thought winter was out of here”.

“The dogs are more hyper in this weather”, she said. Service between the two cities was suspended Tuesday because of the blizzard.

But the meteorologists agreed amongst themselves not to share their secret. Perhaps most annoyed were the many, many people who had flights to catch.

During a visit to hard-hit Oneida County Wednesday, Cuomo said the initial forecast called for the winter storm to hit NY, particularly downstate areas.

And now that it has mostly died down, we can see just how much snow Winter Storm Stella brought. “It was really bad where I live”. He ultimately did not put one in place.

The Weather Service needs to try to be both accurate and communicate the storm hazards.

In Illinois, state police say snowy weather caused two crashes on a Chicago expressway that involved a total of 34 cars.