Residents of the U.S. north-east are bracing themselves for a major winter storm that could deliver up to 2ft of snow in areas including New York City and Boston on Friday and Saturday.
A blizzard warning is due to come into effect from Boston down to New York City on Friday morning, while Rhode Island, Connecticut and parts of New Jersey are also likely to be affected. The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that the conditions will make travel "extremely dangerous" and said people in affected areas should not venture out into the storm. See the animated NWS forecast maps here. Satellite here.
Some Aer Lingus flights to and from New York and Boston have been cancelled as the US north-east braces for the storm.
Some Aer Lingus flights to and from New York and Boston have been cancelled as the US north-east braces for the storm.
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| IMAGE C/O NOAA |
Commenting on the upcoming storm, The Meteo Times Senior Forecaster Peter O'Donnell said: "The storm will develop rapidly around mid-afternoon (eastern U.S. time)
when a low moving up the east coast begins to pull in energy from
another system in western PA currently dropping heavy snow in the Lake
Ontario region. The resulting storm will be further intensified by an
upper level low that will be deepening over Long Island. By morning,
there will be strong low pressure just south of Cape Cod, in eastern MA
(Massachusetts) and winds from the northeast at 70-120 km/hr, with heavy
snow all across New England and nearby New York state, including Long
Island, and northern New Jersey."
"The heaviest amounts are likely to
be in parts of eastern and central MA, southeast NH (New Hampshire), and
eastern CT (Connecticut). Amounts will be generally in the range of 40
to 70 cm but locally even higher, then winds could create drifts as high
as 2-3 metres in open areas.
"There will also be severe coastal
impacts from the combined strong winds and perigeean new moon high tides
and storm surges. Some damage to trees, houses and businesses can be
expected in the Cape Cod and surrounding region. By Saturday night the
storm will be hammering eastern provinces of Canada with the same mix of
heavy snow and coastal rain with very strong winds.
"By Monday, the low
will be passing eastern Newfoundland and then it becomes a potential
player in the European weather as it runs into the western outflow of
the expected cold high pressure system in northern Europe," O'Donnell concluded.
