Winter Storm Brings Power Outages, Travel Delays to Northeast - East Idaho News
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Winter Storm Brings Power Outages, Travel Delays to Northeast

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Getty 030613 SnowstormVA?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1362603567303Win McNamee/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — The winter storm that hit the Midwest and cancelled hundreds of flights in its wake has moved east.

A state of emergency has been declared in Virginia, where 200,000 are without power and heavy wet snow continues to fall. Some 20 inches of snow had fallen in Augusta County, Va., by mid-afternoon.

The storm prompted a shutdown of federal offices and schools in the Washington, D.C., region Wednesday. As of mid-afternoon Wednesday, there was little accumulation in the city but up to 6 inches of snow to the west. The National Weather Service canceled its winter storm warning for D.C. on Wednesday afternoon.

There’s more accumulation in the mountains in West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland, with reports of between 18 and 20 inches expected.

The Nor’easter — dubbed “snowquester” — will move up the coast Wednesday. A total accumulation of 5 inches is expected in New York City and up to 10 inches east of the city. Boston residents should expect half a foot or more, but areas west and south of Boston, including Worcester and Providence, will likely see up to 10 inches — the highest New England snow totals.

Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories are in effect for much of the Ohio River Valley and Mid-Atlantic states as well as portions of the southern Appalachians. Winter storm watches are in effect for portions of southeastern New England. Coastal flood warnings and advisories are in effect for portions of the Mid-Atlantic coastline from Maryland to Long Island and Connecticut.

In Delaware, a dune breach on Route 1 has caused flooding and closed the road between Dewey and Rehoboth Beach.

As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, there were more than 2,100 flight cancellations nationwide with the majority of those in Washington, D.C., according to FlightAware. More than 1,300 flights in and out of the three D.C.-area airports (Ronald Reagan Washington National, Washington Dulles International and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall) were cancelled. Nearly 300 more have been cancelled to and from Philadelphia.

According to the FAA, a ground stop has been issued on arriving flights at Philadelphia International. Newark-Liberty International Airport is experiencing delays due to weather and wind. John F. Kennedy International is experiencing delays of nearly one hour and LaGuardia, one hour and 45 minutes.

Airlines including American, Continental, JetBlue, US Airways and Southwest have issued flexible travel policies allowing passengers to change flights without penalty. Policies vary by airline.

More than 3,600 flights have been cancelled this week due to the winter storm.

Amtrak said it is “monitoring” the storm, but anticipated normal operations on Wednesday. Passengers who have paid but choose not to travel due to this service disruption can receive a refund or a voucher for future travel.

Megabus said it was cancelling the majority of services between New York, Baltimore and Washington and some services running between Washington and Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Durham, Charlotte, Toronto and Buffalo. Greyhound also reported cancellations and delays in New York City, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C. and Richmond.

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