Northeastern U.S. Digging Out From Not-Quite-Record Snowstorm

People of the northeastern U.S. shoveled themselves out Tuesday after a two-day snowstorm that shut down public transport, canceled flights and closed coronavirus vaccination sites.

Some bands of snow were still moving through parts of Maine and Pennsylvania in the morning, but the worst was over, with more than 30 inches (76 centimeters) in parts of New Jersey and just a few inches in Boston.

The sprawling, lumbering storm had already walloped the eastern United States by Monday. More than 17 inches (43 centimeters) of snow dropped on Manhattan’s Central Park, and as much as 30 inches (76 centimeters) was reported in northern New Jersey.

High tide caused flooding early Tuesday in coastal areas of Massachusetts, where the storm had already disrupted the second phase of the state’s vaccine rollout as a Boston site that was supposed to open Monday for residents ages 75 and older did not; some other mass vaccination sites remained open.

Several areas of Massachusetts were hit with 18-plus inches (45 centimeters) of snow, including the central Massachusetts communities of Fitchburg, Lunenburg and Ashburnham.

Much of southern New Hampshire got about a foot of snow. Parts of northern New Hampshire, where the state’s ski resorts and most of the snowmobile trails are, got 9 to 10 inches (22 to 25 centimeters.
“For the next couple of weeks, the conditions are going to be phenomenal,” Gov. Chris Sununu said Tuesday during an interview on WZID-FM.

In Connecticut, Gov. Ned Lamont said the storm forced the postponement of about 10,000 shots and delayed the state’s weekly resupply of vaccine, now expected Tuesday. He urged providers that called off vaccination appointments to extend their hours if needed to reschedule the shots by the end of the week.

A state of emergency imposed by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy remained in effect Tuesday and the state’s six megasites for COVID-19 vaccines were still closed as plow operators faced snow showers and blowing snow.

The New Jersey State Police reported that as of 7 p.m. Monday, troopers had responded to 661 crashes and come to the aid of 1,050 motorists since 6 p.m. Sunday.

Power outages appeared to be minimal. About 5,000 customers in Massachusetts and about 3,000 in New York were without power Tuesday morning.