US Northeast Paralyzed As ‘Bomb Cyclone’ Triggers Record Snowfall, Emergencies

NEW YORK, NY -A ‘bomb cyclone’ walloped the US Northeast, dumping more than 90 centimeters of snow whipped by 135-kilometer winds in some areas, cutting off power to nearly half a million people and canceling about 11,000 flights.

As the storm raged February 22 night into February 23 along a 600-kilometer swath of coastal states from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts, governors or local authorities declared states of emergency, banning all but essential vehicles on the roads, while emergency crews struggled to cope with the snowy onslaught.

The raging blizzard was dubbed a ‘bomb cyclone’ by weather experts because it was accompanied by a meteorological phenomenon called bombogenesis, which occurs when there is a drop of at least 24 millibars in pressure at the center of the storm during a 24-hour period, a rapid change that intensifies its ferocity.

Warwick in Rhode Island reported the most snow at 91 centimeters, while winds churned at 134 kilometers per hour in Nantucket in neighboring Massachusetts.

Only two deaths have so far been attributed to the blizzard, both in Rhode Island.

While snowfall had abated in New York and most other places by February 23 evening, the National Weather Service said heavy snow and strong winds would continue into February 24 morning across Maine as the storm moved off the coast.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said of the blizzard hitting the region, “This is as bad as I’ve seen it.”

Media in the state described it as ‘historic.’

More than 300,000 homes were without power in Massachusetts and 100,000 in New Jersey, as electric lines snapped, mostly because trees toppled over there and elsewhere.

Hundreds of cars, some with people trapped inside them, were reported stranded on snowbound roadways.

It was the worst blizzard in a decade in New York City, which was still recovering from another snowstorm last month.

The 45 centimeters of snow recorded in Central Park ranked as the ninth-highest snowfall there.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency and announced what amounted to a curfew for non-essential vehicles on February 22 in parts of the state close to the coast.

In the heavy snowfall and cold wave last month, at least 18 people, most of them homeless, died in the cold after Mayor Zohran Mamdani had promised during his campaign that homeless people would not be forced to leave their encampments.

This time, however, he changed his stance and asked social, medical, and police services to get vulnerable people off the streets. He said at a news conference on February 23 that there were no deaths.

The bustling city roads were barren on February 23, and by evening, city buses slowly ventured out.

Many tourists flocked to Times Square amid cleared snow piled into mini mountains by emergency workers.

While stocks traded on Wall Street and other markets in the city, powered by traders and investors working from home, most offices, including the United Nations, and schools were closed because of travel restrictions.

In some places, such as Rhode Island, schools and offices will remain closed on February 24 as well.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which provides assistance in disasters like this, is under the Homeland Security Department, whose budget is on hold because of Democrats’ demands that the department impose restrictions on the conduct of immigration officers who shot dead two US citizens during confrontations with protestors.

President Donald Trump’s administration assured that the agency would be able to provide immediate disaster relief. (IANS)