A massive snow storm, sleet and freezing rain is expected to hit the East Coast. The federal government announced that it will close it’s offices on Thursday due to an expected heavy snowfall in Washington, DC.
The Senate and House of Representatives also cancelled their sessions on Thursday due to the harsh weather forecast.
Alabama, West Virginia, Mississippi and New Jersey are under states of emergency while waiting on the storm. Shelters with power generators will be open throughout Mississippi in the event of power outages.
In Arkansas and Mississippi temperatures plummeted by yesterday afternoon, as the storm pushed east. The snowfall is expected to go six inches in Cincinnati, while in Philadeplhia, where a snow emergency is in effect from Thursday morning, it could go up as much as eight inches. New York City is expecting 4 to 6 inches of snow, while for Long Island the forecast is even more harsh.
The storm will also hit hard in Boston, where the record for the most heavy snowfall, which stands at 107.6 inches since the winter of 1995, is close to be broken.
Air travel is disrupted by the snowfalls. The airlines canceled almost 1,900 U.S. flights that were scheduled for Thursday, after similar measures were taken Wednesday evening. Some of the most affected airports are Newark and LaGuardia in the New York City area, Reagan National and Dulles in the Washington area, and Dallas-Fort Worth, Philadelphia.
Schools are closed from Texas to West Virgina, while Penn State University cancelled classes for the first time in the last eight years due to weather.
The roof of the vacant Bayside Expo Center in Boston collapsed Wednesday morning. Heavy snowfall destroyed a barn roof in upstate New York, and five cows were killed. Many more roofs collapsed in the area. In Massachusetts only, the official figures stand at almost 200 roof collapses in the last month.
Most residents from northern Texas to southern New England could expect the triad of sleet, ice and heavy snow, while winds could reach 30 mph.
Finally, the plane that was taking the Ohio State University men’s basketball team back to their game against the Nittany Lions had to force-land in Latrobe, due to icy runways. The Buckeyes continued their trip by bus, covering the 110 miles through dense fog and rain, but managed to shake off the tiredness and win the game.
Image Source: Telemerge
