The nor'easter storm barreling up the East Coast today has sparked a series of flight delays and cancellations as 10 Eastern states face 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 had canceled over 4,700 flights for Saturday by midday, with over 5,000 additional flights delayed. That's after airlines canceled over 1,200 flights on Friday, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.
Updated 3:30 p.m. EST 1/29
The storm began on the East Coast overnight Friday into Saturday. The National Weather Service predicted snowfall of 2 to 4 inches per hour in certain areas in the East. It expects the storm to drop over 24 inches of snow in total in the Boston metro area and eastern Massachusetts.
Nearly 117,000 customers of four Massachusetts power companies were without electricity at midday, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.
"This winter storm is producing snow in parts of the East with intensifying snowfall rates on the I-95 corridor in the Northeast. Snowfall rates of 1 to 3 inches per hour are expected Saturday morning from parts of the Delmarva Peninsula through much of New Jersey, New York City, Long Island, and much of southern and eastern New England," Weather.com reported.
A winter storm warning went into effect in New York City at 7 p.m. Friday as the fast-moving blizzard made its way along the East Coast.
The National Weather Service forecast called for snow accumulations of 7 inches to 10 inches in the metropolitan area with winds gusting to 45 mph over the next 24 hours.
So far, nearly 1,000 Saturday flights into New York's three major airports -- LaGuardia, JFK and Newark -- have been cancelled according to Flight Aware. More than 1,300 outgoing flights have been cancelled as well.
About 90% of all inbound and outbound flights from Boston's Logan International airport have been cancelled Saturday.
Delta, JetBlue and United Airlines have issued travel waivers, allowing customers flying from certain East Coast airports to rebook without paying the fair difference.
JetBlue (JBLU) canceled 570 flights Saturday, or 68% of its flights, according to FlightAware. United Airlines (UAL) has canceled 22% of its flights, Delta Air Lines (DAL) cut 19% and American Airlines (AAL) axed 18% of its flights.
American Airlines (AAL) said it expected the storm to have a "significant" impact on its Northeast operations, Reuters reported, especially at Boston Logan International Airport.
And Delta Air Lines (DAL) 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 formed Friday off the coast of the Carolinas and strengthened as it carved a path toward New England. New York City is expected get hit with up to 12 inches of snow with gusts over 60 mph. Long Island could be hit with up to 24 inches of snow, according to a Saturday statement from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Huchul declared a state of emergency on Friday due to the oncoming storm.
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 declared 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.
