Travel reduced to the essentials, schools and anti-Covid vaccination centers closed: already slowed down by the pandemic, the northeast of the United States was almost at a standstill on Monday due to a strong snowstorm, with some 50 cm expected especially in New York.
From Virginia to Maine, from Washington to Boston, tens of millions of residents were on alert for near-blizzard conditions announced by the National Weather Service (NWS), with winds of up to 80 km / h accompanying heavy snowfall.
u2744 ufe0f North East #EtatsUnis caught in the blizzard.
Winds up to 80 km / h and heavy snowfall. 13cm already covered Central Park in the early morning. Snow is expected to continue to fall at least until evening, and possibly until Tuesday afternoon. @NWSud83dudcf8Central Park @ArbeiterRichard pic.twitter.com/Lwq6dViobc
– Météo-France (@meteofrance) February 1, 2021
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According to AFP, some 13 cm of snow already covered Central Park in the early morning, and the snow was expected to continue to fall at least until the evening, or even until Tuesday afternoon.
“If we are over 50 cm, (this storm) will not be far from ranking in the 10 snowiest episodes in New York City.“Matthew Wunsch, meteorologist at the New York office of the NWS, told AFP.”It should be […] one of the biggest in recent years“.
This exceptional snowfall is in any case the happiness of the pandas of the Smithsonian national zoo in Washington who have made some beautiful slides in the fresh snow.
For this second snowy episode of the season – the first, in mid-December, had deposited some 25 cm of snow – New York Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a local state of emergency in order to facilitate the clearance work and the intervention of the emergency services.
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