Winter Storm Missing New York Set to Bring Worst to Washington

Temperatures plummeted across the U.S. bringing snow, grounding flights and closing schools and government offices as a late winter storm zeroed in on Washington, sparing New York City a direct hit. As much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snow may pile up in Washington and Baltimore, theNational Weather Service said. Government offices in Washington are closed, the Office of Personnel Management said on its website. “From the nation’s capital up through Baltimore and into Wilmington will get 6 to 10 inches and close to a foot in some places, especially across central Maryland,” said Carl Erickson, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania. “In New York, we officially have them in the one-to-three-inch range.” Plunging arctic air pushed the track of the storm further south than expected days ago, sparing Boston and New York heavy snow, while meaning the corridor from Philadelphia to Washington would take the brunt of the system. Schools in Washington and Wilmington, Delaware, were closed, according to district websites. Amtrak said it will operate a modified snow schedule tomorrow, which will result in fewer trains available on the Acela Express and Northeast regional service. New Jersey Transit said it plans to offer regular weekday service tomorrow, and warned of cancellations and delays because of the weather. As of 8:45 p.m. yesterday, 1,826 flights were canceled, according to FlightAware, a Houston-based airline tracking service. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport had at least 660 canceled.

Freezing Rain

Freezing rain and sleet interfered with de-icing planes at the Texas airport and cancellations built up because it was busy, said Dennis Cavanaugh, a weather service meteorologist in Fort Worth. Freezing rain and sleet has stopped in Dallas and Fort Worth, Cavanaugh said. Temperatures are forecast to reach a high of 32 degrees (0 Celsius) later today, which would be a record for the day, he said. Readings in the cities had gone from a high of 81 on March 1 to 22 last night, according to the weather service. About 34,400 homes and businesses across the U.S. were blacked out, with most of those in Texas, as of 8 p.m. New York time. The worst of the snow in Washington and Baltimore should be over by later today, said Amy Bettwy, a weather service meteorologist in Sterling, Virginia. After the storm passes, temperatures are expected to fall close to 10 degrees. Readings will “stay below freezing through midweek,” Bettwy said. “It is going to kind of prolong the cleanup efforts on the roads.”

New York

Philadelphia and southern New Jersey may get from 4 to 8 inches, while Richmond, Virginia could receive as much as 10, the weather service said. Parts of New Jersey near New York may get 2 to 3 inches, said Joey Picca, a weather service meteorologist in Upton, New York. Manhattan, which was forecast to get as much as 6 inches yesterday, will probably get only about an inch. “The polar jet stream is really pushing down hard on the area so the storm system can’t push itself far north,” Picca said. “It is really being shunted to the south and we are just going to get clipped.” Commuters traveling to New York from New Jersey may have to contend with snow and ice. Those coming in from the north and Connecticut may have less of a disruption, said Erickson. Boston was expected to get less than an inch, according to the weather service. As the storm moved east, it was forecast to leave a swath of snow from Kansas to the Atlantic. Winter storm warnings and advisories stretched from Kansas to southern New Jersey. Schools in Kansas City, Missouri, were closed. Source :   http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-03/winter-storm-missing-new-york-set-to-bring-worst-to-washington.html