The blizzard will make ‘travel nearly impossible,’ the National Weather Service says.
The nor’easter expected to barrel up the East Coast is sparking a series of flight delays and cancellations as a large section of the country braces for heavy snowfall and hurricane force winds.
“Blizzard conditions are forecast from eastern Long Island through much of coastal New England, particularly from southeast Maine to Cape Cod,” the National Weather Service said. “This will make travel nearly impossible.”
Airlines canceled over 1,200 more flights within, into, or out of the United States on Friday and over 3,000 were already canceled for Saturday and Sunday, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.
American Airlines (AAL) – Get American Airlines Group, Inc. Report said it expected the storm to have a “significant” impact on its Northeast operations, Reuters reported, especially at Boston Logan International Airport.
JetBlue (JBLU) – Get JetBlue Airways Corporation Report said it canceled about 500 flights through Sunday. United Airlines (UAL) – Get United Airlines Holdings, Inc. Report has canceled 10% of its Saturday flights.
And Delta Air Lines (DAL) – Get Delta Air Lines, Inc. Report also said they expect the storm to impact their weekend operations.
‘Snow Emergency’
Blizzard warnings Friday were expanded to cover 10 million people across 10 states in coastal counties from New England to Virginia.
The storm is due to form Friday off the coast of the Carolinas and strengthen as it carves a path toward New England. New York City could get hit with 8 to 12 inches of snow with gusts over 50 mph.
Eastern Long Island, Eastern Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts is expected to bear the brunt of the storm as they are expected to be hit with winds over 70 mph and more than a foot of snow.
Boston is declaring a “snow emergency” on Friday at 9 p.m., Mayor Michelle Wu said, according to CNN.
“We are expecting as much as 18 to 24 inches of snow and 40- to 50-mph winds,” Wu said. “This is likely to be an intense, dangerous storm, with heavy snow, high winds and whiteout conditions.”
Powerful winds may down trees and power lines, leading to power outages and downed trees may also block roads
Weather officials warned that bitter cold air will filter in behind the storm and drag down temperatures across the eastern third of the country on Saturday.
