A major nor’easter pounded the U.S. East Coast on Friday, packing heavy rain, intermittent snow and strong winds as residents from the mid-Atlantic to Maine braced for coastal flooding.
More than 2,100 flights were cancelled, most spread across airports in the Northeast.
An American Airlines spokesman says the company has cancelled 18 per cent of its flights in the Northeast, with Boston’s Logan Airport and Reagan Washington National Airport the hardest hit. Amtrak is reporting track damage on one of its Washington lines.
Air travellers stand at the check in counter during a winter nor’easter at LaGuardia Airport in New York on Friday. The powerful storm caused delays at several airports. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
The Eastern Seaboard was buffeted by wind gusts exceeding 80 km/h, with possible hurricane-strength winds of around 130 km/h to 145 km/h on Cape Cod. Also, heavy snow fell in Ohio and upstate New York as the storm spun eastward. Boston south to Rhode Island was forecast to get five to 12 centimetres of snow from the late-winter storm.
Powerful winds forced President Donald Trump to fly out of Dulles International Airport on Friday instead of Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where Air Force One is housed. The airport in Northern Virginia has runways that are more closely aligned with the gusty winds that were kicked up Friday by the nor’easter. Trump flew to Charlotte, N. C., to attend the funeral of Rev. Billy Graham.
The front edge of the storm dumped up to 30 centimetres of snow on northeast Ohio, with strong winds leading to power outages and school closings. Portions of New York also saw more than 30 centimetres of snow Thursday night.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a travel advisory for all areas north of New York City, requesting limited travel due to dangerous driving conditions.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker activated 200 National Guard members to help deal with the storm.
A street floods as a large coastal storm slams Scituate, Mass., on Friday. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency is warning that number of people experiencing power outages in the state is expected to rise. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
Schools in the coastal community of Scituate were closed Friday because of the powerful storm, officials said. (Ryan McBride/AFP/Getty Images)
“We’re expecting to see more severe flooding issues here than we did in the Jan. 4 storm,” when a nor’easter lashed the region with heavy snow and rain, he said.
The storm knocked out power to 500,000 residences and businesses from Michigan to North Carolina. In D.C. alone, more than 100,000 customers lost power.
High winds downed a tree onto power lines, blocking the street and damaging a vehicle March 2, 2018 in Takoma Park, Md. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Freezing temperatures and wind gusts pounded the Washington, D.C., area, downing trees, knocking out power and forcing schools and the federal government to close. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The Office of Personnel Management announced it would close all federal offices in the D.C. area for the day, while the Smithsonian museums also closed. Pennsylvania utilities report at least 65,000 outages in that state.
Residents were taking matters into their own hands.
In Duxbury, south of Boston, officials urged people to evacuate as soon as possible, and the fire department was preparing to use a high-water rescue vehicle for the first time to help any residents stuck in homes amid high floodwaters.
People walk through water covering State Street, Boston, flooded by water from Boston Harbor at high tide. (Bill Sikes/Associated Press)
Michelle Shaffer, 45, of the coastal Massachusetts town of Hull, lost her appliances beneath almost two metres of water during the last big storm.
“I have a new washer, and my boyfriend just built a wooden platform for it. We got a couple of sump pumps,” said Shaffer, who evacuated Thursday night. “This storm is going to be worse because it’s going over three high tides,” she said.
In New Jersey, officials worried that the storm could take a chunk out of beaches just south of Atlantic City that are being repaired because of damage from previous storms. Winds were expected to increase drastically throughout the day, peaking Friday afternoon with gusts from 80 km/h to around 95 km/h that could leave downed trees and power lines. Almost 5,000 customers were without power.
Dangerous coastal flooding is forecast. Residents are urged to monitor the forecast and follow instructions of local emergency officials. #nantucket #maflood #CoastalFlooding https://t.co/dQjwwQem4K
—
@MassEMA
Across the East Coast, authorities told residents of coastal communities to be prepared to evacuate, if necessary, in advance of high tides. The weather service said all of Rhode Island was under flood and high wind watches through Sunday morning.
The storm’s impact is quickly being felt. In Connecticut, college newspaper the Daily Campus reported the University of Connecticut’s Agriculture Biotechnology Lab building was evacuated after high winds blew a smokestack on the roof.
The storm’s impact has been felt as far south as central Virginia’s Hanover County, where the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported EMS crews were needed to rescue four children trapped in a house under a fallen tree.
Delta, Southwest, JetBlue and American Airlines were allowing travellers to change their Friday and Saturday flights to avoid delays and cancellations at key airports across the Northeast.
A man walks down a flooded street during rain and high winds in the Broad Channel section of Queens in New York. (Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images)
