What you should know
- A powerful winter storm, which prompted weather warnings across the US, left coastal flooding and downed trees on Long Island, Queens and parts of the Jersey shore. Traveling becomes more chaotic.
- More than 120,000 people in the tri-state area lost power Friday morning, with Connecticut accounting for the lion’s share of the outages. However, cold temperatures might cause more problems, so keep an eye on the weather over the weekend.
- Wind Chill Advisories are in effect for much of central and northwestern New Jersey with an outdoor air sensation of -10 to -20, which might cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.
NEW YORK — A monster winter storm that jeopardized vacation travel across the United States increased in intensity Friday, sending flooding across parts of New York and New Jersey, toppling trees in Connecticut and paralyzing swaths of the country in the worst moment.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for the Big Apple before the storm hit and encouraged travelers to move forward or delay their plans. The storm generated wind gusts near 60 mph and downpours that inundated coastal areas with up to 3 feet of water.
Now we have black ice to worry regarding. Bridges and overpasses tend to freeze first, and black ice is nearly impossible to see. If the road looks wet or like there is a puddle, assume it is ice.
How is black ice formed and how to be careful?
Reports of several cars stranded during high tide in Long Island’s Freeport came in early Friday. No injuries were immediately reported there. In the city, crews were prioritizing parts of southern Queens that were hit hard by the morning’s high tide. Residual flooding will be addressed as the tides recede. Friday night isn’t expected to be that bad.
The winter siege began Thursday, and while other parts of the country experienced blizzard-like conditions, it didn’t feel like a winter storm locally until Friday night, when temperatures dropped and wind chills dipped to zero. . At times it felt like a thunderstorm, with weather alerts in parts of the city and reports of coastal and metro flooding.
High surf and storm surge might cause 1-3 foot inundation in lower areas at high tide. This might cause road closures and widespread flooding in low-lying areas near the coasts, but some flooding might spread inland from the coasts, so keep an eye on the weather.
Check here the weather alerts in your neighborhood.
Here the images.
Intense wind gusts will exceed 50 mph for the I-95 corridor, strong enough to cause damage and might cause power outages which, given the approaching freezing weather, might be dangerous if they last.
Nearly 100,000 people in Connecticut were without power as of mid-morning Friday, while some 31,000 were without power in New York. New Jersey was seeing fewer outages, around 2,000, early, but the worst wind is yet to come.
Wind advisories are in effect for the entire tri-state area through Friday night. Sustained winds will be around 20-30 mph. Continuous power outages and downed trees are possible.
As dangerous arctic air rolls in, the temperature will drop regarding 30 degrees in a matter of hours. Wind chill will be at zero or below before dark, and temperatures will be in the 20s Friday night, and a wind chill advisory is in effect for much of central and northwestern New Jersey, as well as parts of the valley of Hudson.
We bring team coverage in New York and New Jersey with the Authority in Time, Luis Alejandro Medina, Ana Ledo and Alfredo Acosta.
Any wet surface, including roads, might quickly turn to ice by the time many hit the road early on Christmas Eve, or even the night before. Wind Chill Advisories are in effect for much of central and northwestern New Jersey with an outdoor air sensation of -10 to -20, which might cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.
It is expected to be one of the coldest Christmases we have had in over 20 years.
Yolanda Vásquez with the details.
what is expected now
Christmas weekend will be sunny, but also windy and very cold, possibly the coldest in decades. Temperatures aren’t expected to hit freezing, or even max, until next Tuesday at the earliest. However, we will be able to break out of “dangerous” cold territory on Monday followingnoon.
Temperatures will be slow to moderate early next week so it will stay cool, but we will be out of “dangerous” territory Monday followingnoon. By the end of the week we’ll be close to average, so plot twist: it looks like the ’50s are back for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
The Department of Sanitation will salt the streets to prevent black ice and, for the first time, the city will also salt the bike lanes. Authorities ask travelers to stay off the roads if possible and take public transportation instead.
We should break above that mark once more to close out the year, with the long-range forecast predicting highs of 50 degrees for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
