Winter Storm Brings Second Major Snowfall of Year to Northeast
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Comstock/Thinkstock(CHICAGO) — The second major winter storm of the season rolled into the Northeast today causing some dangerous driving conditions and headaches for many airport travelers.
The storm, is dumping up to 6 inches of snow in Chicago earlier in the week, is expected to bring 3 to 6 inches in New York City and the surrounding area, with 4 inches expected in Philadelphia, and up to 7 inches in parts of Massachusetts, according to forecasters.
More than 1,500 snow plows were out in New York City this morning, according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who said Saturday that the city was faring well during its first major snowfall of the year.
“The snow storm does not, at the moment anyway, seem to be as severe as we predicted,” Bloomberg said.
Officials said crews in Pennsylvania and New Jersey began salting the roads around midnight and started to plow shortly after.
Many airports in the region are experiencing delays and flight cancellations, the worst of those at New York’s LaGuardia and Philadelphia International according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
FlightAware.com reports nearly 800 flights across the country have been cancelled.
By mid-morning, much of the snow throughout the region turned to sleet, and forecasters said, with a slight warm-up expected in the afternoon, refreezing of the roads tonight could cause some major problems for drivers.
Officials in Seattle said they are now dealing with flooding after the snow and ice brought by the storm began melting.
Parts of the Northeast saw their first significant snowfall in October, cutting off power to more than 3 million homes and businesses throughout New England.
The worst of those outages in Connecticut where some were without power for more than a week.
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