Winter storm hammers East Coast, leaves hundreds of thousands without power
Hundreds of thousands of Americans are without power Wednesday after another powerful storm system slammed into the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions, causing coastal flooding, damaging winds and torrential rainfall.
High wind warnings and wind advisories remain in effect this morning for nearly the entire region, according to Fox Weather, as the National Weather Service (NWS) is forecasting "widespread hazardous weather impacts" as the storm makes its way out of the area.
The NWS says there will be "heavy rain capable of producing flooding from southern New England to southern Maine" -- a region already hit by snowfall over the weekend.
"It will also be quite windy across this region as well, with winds gusting over 50 mph, especially near the coast and for elevated areas where gusts will likely exceed 60 mph," it added. "This will also cause instances of coastal flooding where strong onshore flow piles up water into rivers and bays."
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As of early Wednesday morning, around 140,000 customers are without power in New York, followed by about 100,000 in Pennsylvania and more than 50,000 in North Carolina and New Jersey.
In New York City on Tuesday, a video emerged of a utility pole on fire in the Queens borough during the storm. Firefighters could be seen gathering in the area as sparks were captured flying through the air.
Multiple inches of rain were recorded in towns and cities throughout the Northeast.
"While much of the rain has now exited the area, we are still lingering with the effects," the NWS’ New York office wrote on X. "In particular, many rivers and streams continue to rise into moderate to major flood stages with Flood Warnings in place."
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Wind gusts of 60 mph and greater were recorded late Tuesday and early Wednesday in the Queens borough of New York City, parts of Long Island and Stamford, Connecticut, according to NWS data.
"This is a serious storm, New York," Kathy Hochul, the state’s governor, said in a post on X late Tuesday night. "Utility crews will be working to restore power as soon as safely possible."
New Jersey declared a state of emergency before the storm moved through the region.
"Beginning tomorrow morning and continuing through Wednesday morning, we are expecting one to four inches of heavy rain, strong winds, and potential inland and coastal flooding," Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday. "This storm will exacerbate the effects of the inclement conditions we experienced in December and this past weekend and may precede another storm Friday night."