Dangerous cold and winter storms continue to blast much of the continental U.S., with freezing rain falling as far south as Florida.
Winter Storm Heather on Tuesday began to spread across the northeastern U.S., bringing snow to New York and ending record-long “inchless” streaks in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. The storm prompted winter weather advisories across parts of New York and Pennsylvania and virtually all of New Jersey and New England, indicating potentially hazardous driving conditions. Going into Wednesday, New York is expected to see another 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) of snow, and New England another 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 centimeters).
More than 120,000 homes and businesses on Tuesday were still experiencing power outages that began over the weekend – primarily in Texas, Oregon and Louisiana. Classes were canceled Tuesday in many major cities across the U.S., including in Portland, Chicago, Dallas, D.C., New York’s Hudson valley, and New England.
Federal offices in the capital were also closed due to the weather.
Heather first emerged in the Northwest on Saturday, moving into the South over Sunday and Monday before swinging northeast. Hurricane-force winds were recorded in Oregon on Saturday, and at least four deaths in the Portland area were attributed to hypothermia and trees felled by the heavy wind.
Ice and sleet from Heather also caused multiple car crashes in Salem and Eugene, Ore., and heavy snow resulted in an avalanche in Winter Park, Colo. Air travel has been hampered by the storm, with flight tracking service FlightAware reporting over 3,000 cancellations for U.S. flights Monday and more than 1,300 by Tuesday morning.
The storm notably delayed the Buffalo Bills’ playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, with the Bills inviting fans to help dig out the snow that filled Highmark Stadium on Sunday.
