Blizzard hits Boston and New England

WASHINGTON: A powerful blizzard struck Boston and surrounding New England on Tuesday, leaving some 4.5 million people grappling with as much as three feet of snow and coastal flooding but sparing New York City residents who had braced for a significant blast.
Snow was forecast to keep falling into early yesterday in eastern New England, possibly setting a record snowfall in Boston.
At Logan International Airport, 59.2cm of snow was on the ground early evening, swept higher in parts by strong winds.
“There are drifts now of four, five and six feet in some places,” Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said.
“This is clearly a very big storm for most of Massachusetts.”
A statewide travel ban was scheduled to be lifted at midnight but Massachusetts residents were urged to stay off the roads.
Boston-area trains, buses and subways were set to resume normal service yesterday but delays were predicted for the morning commute.
On the resort island of Nantucket, more than half of homes and businesses were still without power at early evening, and crews working to restore electricity were at times getting stuck on roads throughout the day, Police Chief William Pittman said.
Lacking electricity and heat at home, over 100 people flocked to a shelter at a high school and others simply warmed themselves in their running cars, he said.
“We are going to have another tough night ahead of us,” Pittman said, citing fresh snowfall and blustery conditions as well as downed trees and power lines, and icy water over roadways.
“After midnight, things are going to start improving.”
Icy flooding closed the island’s downtown waterfront, white-out conditions forced some roads to be shut down and ferry and plane service was cancelled, reports said.
Storm-driven coastal flooding added to the state’s woes, as low-lying towns south of Boston grappled with rising water.
High tides breached a seawall in Marshfield, about 50km south of Boston, damaging 11 homes, several of which were condemned, police said. Police urged residents to evacuate.
Denise Gorham, 57, said she watched a heavy wooden shed filled with window air conditioners float away on waters that surrounded the house after the breach.
“It’s been horrible. I’ve been here 12 years and we’ve weathered every single storm. It was just like the ocean was on the street itself,” said Gorham.
Further south, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut escaped the worst of the storm, despite dire predictions by meteorologists and officials. – Reuters