Dire Warnings Along East Coast as Snow Piles Up

[LiberalElite]

Source: NY Times

WASHINGTON — A massive winter storm that threatens to dump two feet of snow on the nation’s capital began pummeling the East Coast on Friday afternoon, as millions of people from the Carolinas to New York braced for a weekend of severe winds, power losses and coastal flooding. Thousands of flights were canceled; governors and mayors warned people to stay indoors and off the roads.

Governors in at least 10 states declared states of emergency, and travel was disrupted in at least five major airport hubs, with 6,300 flights canceled on Friday and Saturday and 4,675 more delayed. In North Carolina, more than 114,000 homes lost power. The Washington region’s mass transit system took what an official called an “exceedingly rare” step of shutting down for the weekend.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/23/us/blizzard-east-coast.html?emc=edit_th_20160123&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=46529169&_r=0

---

I'm in NYC and went to bed thinking Oh we won't get a foot, 8 inches at most.... A very rude awakening awaited me this a.m.

Well, gotta log onto the NYC snow plow web page and see how they're doing. (Not that I'm going anywhere soon. )

JUST ANNOUNCED AT GOVERNOR'S PRESS CONF.: NYC MTA buses will shut down at Noon.

[onehandle]

1. Global Warming Is Over! Thanks, Obama! nt

[NutmegYankee]

16. Sadly, some people really do think like that.

And because weather is about moisture and thermodynamics, they never catch on that warmer air holds more water and if it hits cold air that can dive south more often because of a weakened jet stream...

How wacky is the weather getting? Connecticut had it's coldest February and coldest month ever (also February 2015) since records began in 1905 in the same year it had the warmest December on record.

[ellenrr]

22. acc. to this article, we can hold the el nino at least partially responsible for Blizzard 2016.

As has been the case for all of the coastal storms in the eastern US the last few years, sea level rise from climate change has added about an extra foot of water to coastal flooding levels. But shorter timescale climate influences are also making flooding worse during this storm.

El Niño, the tropical phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean that alters weather patterns around the globe, has probably added another four to six inches of temporary sea level rise on the mid-Atlantic coast this season, said William Sweet, an oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Sweet studies the influence of El Niño on sea level, and he says that El Niño provides an atmospheric setup that improves the odds for more east coast storms, as well as a tendency for more constant winds that push more water towards the shore. The combination of more storms and more constant winds tends to lead to more frequent flooding events during El Niño. This storm may bring major flooding to some areas, but even mild to moderate flooding, also known as nuisance flooding, can damage infrastructure and strain budgets.
...

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/22/blizzard-2016-blame-it-on-el-nino.html

[Botany]

2. It is dire I tell you.

[hotdamn00]

11. Just remember...

No matter how bad you think you've got it, someone else always has it worse.
<a href=".html" target="_blank"><img src="" border="0" alt=" photo lizzard_zpsh1r8yyc6.jpg"/></a>

[elmac]

15. I'm deathly afraid of lizzards

and clowns.

[Delphinus]

3. How much do you have?

n/t

[LiberalElite]

6. I can still see the

Last edited Sat Jan 23, 2016, 11:04 AM - Edit history (1)

hubcaps on parked cars so I'd estimate six inches so far. I'm in one of the "outer boroughs" -Queens.
They say the worst is coming in the early afternoon.
EDIT: The "eye" will pass over us in about an hour (11 a.m. EST)

[malthaussen]

4. Yeah, there's a bit of the white stuff out there.

About a foot, I'd say, around Philly, although it is still coming down sporadically.

-- Mal

[mountain grammy]

5. You guys have had it too good..

Welcome to winter, and enjoy.

[tk2kewl]

7. Out here on the Guyland high tide is here and it looks to be a-couple-two-tree feet above normal

Hard to say how much snow do to the wind. Some places are bare while others look to be 2 ft deep

[FailureToCommunicate]

8. Our governor (Baker) has pledged to send help and equipment if needed since

we here may get a somewhat less severe impact.

Stay safe.

[ellenrr]

9. useful article - hourly snow updates. They sure fucked it up tho

by closing with a paragraph about the anti-choice idiots on the mall in the snow. Wish they would open their mouths and drown.

[LiberalElite]

10. Oh gawd - I

didn't read down that far. That definitely could have been cut from the final draft.

[ellenrr]

12. not yr fault- fault the NYT. nt

[LiberalElite]

13. heh. I do - frequently. eom

[ellenrr]

14. If anyone's on twitter there're some cool photos from space. #blizzard2016 nt

[Lodestar]

17. "Dire"? Goodness the drama! When I lived in NYC I would LOVE these

types of events when the city would essentially shut down.
A city transformed - I loved the softness and quiet the snow brought with it.
So long as there is a way to stay sheltered and warm I think these 'snow days' are so good
for the soul and a nice change of pace.

[LiberalElite]

18. Sometimes dramatic words are called for -

there have been casualties already.

[ellenrr]

20. well.. if you lose power and have no heat, and are on the ground floor,

like I am, in an apt that is not terribly well-insulated.
and cannot cook if lose power, and most of food is frozen food,
and have only one blanket--
then it is not such a nice thing.

for me - not life or death - just worry and anxiety about how cold can it get -
but for others probably even worse.

The majority of people caught in these natural weather emergencies don't really enjoy it!

Nor do I enjoy knowing that this is the world - from now on - one weather emergency after another.

Nor do I enjoy knowing that those of us that are too well off financially will of course suffer the most.

[Boomer]

19. We're at 30 inches so far

Storm is still raging and we could get up to another foot of snow in this part of West Virginia.

[ellenrr]

21. I wonder if this is (or will be) a record for WV -

I don't think of WV getting a lot of snow usually...

[k8conant]

23. 40" on the Blue Ridge of West Virginia

Today maybe 2 feet left on the ground (except the 9-foot shoveling piles that are down to 7 feet)