What you should know
- A powerful winter storm, which triggered weather warnings across the United States, caused coastal flooding and downed trees on Long Island, Queens and parts of the Jersey coast. The journey 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 could cause further 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 a feeling of -10 to -20 outside air, which could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.
NEW YORK – A monster winter storm that has jeopardized vacation travel in the United States increased in intensity Friday, causing flooding in parts of New York and New Jersey, downing trees in Connecticut and paralyzing swathes of the country at its worst.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency to the Big Apple before the storm hit and encouraged travelers to go ahead or delay their plans. The storm generated wind gusts near 60 mph and downpours that flooded coastal areas with up to 3 feet of water.
Now we have to worry about black ice. Bridges and overpasses tend to freeze first, and the black ice is nearly impossible to see. If the road looks wet or like there is a puddle, assume it is icy.
How does black ice form and how to be careful?
Reports of several cars stranded during high tide in Long Island’s Freeport came early Friday. No injuries were immediately reported there. In town, crews were prioritizing the parts of southern Queens that had been hard hit by the morning’s high tide. Residual flooding will be addressed as the tides recede. Friday night shouldn’t be so bad.
The winter siege began on Thursday, and while other parts of the country experienced blizzard-like conditions, locally it didn’t feel like a winter storm until Friday night, when temperatures dropped and wind chill dropped to zero. . At times it felt like a thunderstorm, with weather warnings in parts of the city and reports of coastal and subway flooding.
High tide and storm surges could cause 1-3 foot flooding in low-lying areas at high tide. This could cause road closures and widespread flooding in low-lying areas near the coasts, but some flooding could spread inland from the coasts, so keep a close eye on the weather.
Check here for weather alerts in your neighborhood.
Here the pictures.
Intense wind gusts will exceed 50 mph for the I-95 corridor, strong enough to cause damage and could cause power outages which, given the approaching freezing weather, could be dangerous if they last.
Nearly 100,000 people in the Connecticut were without power by mid-morning Friday, while an estimated 31,000 were without power in New York. New Jersey was experiencing fewer outages, about 2,000, early on, but the worst winds are yet to come.
Wind advisories are in effect for the entire tri-state area through Friday evening. Sustained winds will be around 20-30 km/h. Continuous power outages and downed trees are possible.
With the arrival of the dangerous arctic air, the temperature will drop by about 30 degrees in a matter of hours. Wind chill will be at zero or below before sunset, and temperatures will be in the 20s Friday night, and a wind chill warning is in effect for much of central and northwestern New Jersey, as well as parts of the valley of the Hudson.
We bring coverage of the team to New York and New Jersey with The Authority in Time, Luis Alejandro Medina, Ana Ledo and Alfredo Acosta.
Any wet surface, including roads, could turn to ice quickly when 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 a feeling of -10 to -20 outside air, which could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.
It is predicted to be one of the coldest Christmases in 20 years.
Yolanda Vásquez with details.
what do we expect now
The Christmas weekend will be sunny, but also windy and very cold, perhaps the coldest in decades. Temperatures aren’t expected to hit freezing, or even a high, until next Tuesday at the earliest. However, we will be able to get out of the cold “dangerous” territory on Monday afternoon.
Temperatures will be slow to moderate early next week, so it will stay cool, but we’ll be out of “dangerous” territory by Monday afternoon. We’ll be close to average by the end of the week, so twist: It looks like the 1950s are back for New Years and New Years.
The Department of Health will be climbing roads to prevent black ice and, for the first time, the city will be climbing bike lanes as well. Authorities are asking travelers to stay off the roads if possible and take public transport instead.
We should be above that again to close out the year, with the long-term forecast calling for highs of 50 degrees for New Years and New Years.
