Flights have been cancelled and blizzard warnings posted: winter storm Neptune is poised to strike the Northeast, possibly bringing hurricane-force winds with it.
As the Inquisitr recently reported, officials are expecting driving conditions to be near impossible, and power outages are likely in the record-setting freezing temperatures that winter storm Neptune will bring.
According to a report by the Weather Channel , winter storm Neptune has led to blizzard warnings in six states from Michigan to coastal New England. Bitterly cold high winds and heavy snowfall are expected.
Winter storm Neptune is expected to begin Saturday night, with snow falling gently across the Northeast, according to the Washington Post . Overnight, the storm’s winds will intensify and snowfall will increase. The additional snow Neptune brings will be falling on top of snow that accumulated in previous storms, straining public resources in hard-hit areas, including Boston.
Already underway in the Great Lakes region, winter storm Neptune has brought as much as eight inches to parts of Michigan. Blizzard warnings are in effect for portions of the Upper Peninsula, including Houghton-Hancock and Marquette. Winter storm warnings remain in effect for areas including South Bend, Indiana and Grand Rapids, Michigan.
In the Northeast, Neptune brings blizzard warnings to all of eastern Massachusetts, including Nantucket, Cape Cod, and Boston, as well as most of central and southern Maine, including Bangor, Augusta, and Portland.
Southern Rhode Island, much of the New Hampshire seacoast, and parts of southern Connecticut are under a blizzard warning as well. Portions of the Northeast not covered by the blizzard warnings are under winter storm warnings.
New York City and Philadelphia are covered by winter weather advisories as Neptune approaches, and Rochester and Buffalo, New York are under winter storm warnings. Central and eastern Long Island are under a blizzard warning.
The impact of winter storm Neptune will be intensified by a large field of strong winds. The Weather Channel reports that winds are expected to be accompanied by dangerously low wind chills in the storm’s wake, even outside areas where snowfall is expected to be heaviest.
Massachusetts will remain in a deep freeze through Tuesday morning, says MassLive , with potential power outages, beach erosion, blowing and drifting snow, and poor road conditions.
Delays and cancellations are a likelihood for all major Northeast airports Sunday. CBS Boston reports that several hundred flights in and out of Logan Airport have been canceled in anticipation of the harsh conditions Neptune will bring with it. Massport officials told a reporter that many airlines have announced that they will be waiving ticket change fees that result from winter storm Neptune.
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