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[h=4]'Tidal wave of snow' to slam Northeast[/h]Widespread power outages and major air traffic disruptions are feared throughout the Northeast as a massive winter storm that could dump 2 to 3 feet of snow on bears down the region.
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USA TODAY's Desair Brown talks with Weather editor Doyle Rice about what to expect when the monster storm hits. (USA NEWS, USA TODAY)
A pedestrian walks to her office in White Plains, N.Y., as light snow falls on Jan. 26.(Photo: Joe Larese, The Journal News)
Flights were canceled, schools closed and snow trucks rolled Monday in anticipation of a monster storm primed to roar across a wide swath of the Northeast with up to 3 feet of snow and near-hurricane force winds.
Both New York City and Boston took the rare step of banning all forms of travel due to the storm.
"It's dangerous out there now. It's only going to become more dangerous,'' New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday evening as he announced a total ban on travel on any road after 11 p.m. in 13 counties including the city, suburbs and Long Island.
A blizzard warning was issued for both metro areas and more than 6,100 flights had been canceled before the storm cranked up. The storm will impact more than 40 million people, the National Weather Service reported.
YOUR TAKE: What's the weather like outside your window?
The treacherous, 24-hour-plus snow odyssey was expected to be most severe late Monday and deep into Tuesday. AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tom Kines said Philadelphia, New York City and much of New England could see 1-2 feet of snow. Parts of central Massachusetts and central Connecticut could be in the 2-3 foot range, he said.
Wind gusts could reach 40-55 mph in many areas, with 60 mph or more possible along the coast, Kines said.
"Travel will be impossible. Forget about it on Tuesday," Kines told USA TODAY. "The sun will come out Wednesday, and they all can start digging out."
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said city streets will be closed to non-emergency traffic as of 11 p.m. Monday. Schools will be closed Tuesday, he added.
"Recognize this as an emergency, this is not business as usual," de Blasio said. "This is going to hit very hard and very fast."
Cuomo said anyone who violates the evening travel ban will be subject to a misdemeanor and $300 fine.
"This is a serious situation,'' Cuomo said. "It is no joke to have people stranded on a highway.''
The city's Department of Homeless Services activated its "Code Blue" winter weather emergency procedure, making it possible for homeless people to stay at any city shelter, regardless of which one they're assigned to. The department said it would double the number of "outreach vans" on the streets overnight through Wednesday and said another 10 vans will be out finding homeless New Yorkers along the city's subway system.
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New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city is bracing for the worst case scenario as a major winter storm is expected to hit "very hard and very fast."
The weather service blizzard warning was bleak, foreseeing "life-threatening conditions and extremely dangerous travel due to heavy snowfall and strong winds. With whiteout conditions many roads may become impassable, strong winds may down power lines and tree limbs."
The weather service labels a snowstorm a blizzard when winds reach 35 mph and blowing snow reduces visibility to less than a quarter of a mile.
"It will be like a tidal wave of snow into New England tonight into Tuesday," tweeted AccuWeather meteorologist Henry Margusity.
In Brooklyn, N.Y., snow quickly covered homes, cars and sidewalks Monday. Streets were filled with people clearing off their vehicles, throwing down snow-melting salt, and chatting about the coming storm.
Rafael Aquino, 62, has lived in Brooklyn all his life and said he isn't surprised that a large storm is heading his way.
"It's inevitable," he said, noting that the city had enjoyed a relatively mild winter so far. "It was just too nice. We had too much good weather."
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he expected the city subway system to stop normal service Monday evening. He said a travel ban could be issued at 11 p.m.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority said it hoped to keep city buses running as long as possible, warning that "depending on road conditions, service may be curtailed as the day progresses."
USA TODAY
Airlines cancel 6,175 flights ahead of monster storm
In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie said public transit would probably shut down at about 10 p.m. Monday night. He urged residents to stay home Monday night and Tuesday.
"The only way for us to to make Wednesday productive is to let us do our job on Tuesday," he said.
State climatologist David Robinson said the storm could challenge the state record of 34 inches that dates back to February 1899.
In Boston, health commission spokeswoman McKenzie Ridings said shelters throughout the city on Monday began opening during the day, not just at night. The city was also granting "amnesty" through the storm's duration to homeless people who had been previously barred from city facilities for non-violent offenses.
"We expect to be hit pretty hard with this storm," Ridings said.
Barbara Trevisan, spokesperson for Pine Street Inn, the largest homeless services agency in the region, said it is increasing efforts to locate homeless people and urge them to come indoors. Many suffer mental illness and can be difficult to persuade to leave the streets, she said.
"A situation like this could be life-and-death for somebody if they're outside," she said. "If you're on the street, you may not be aware that a big storm is coming," she said.
Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy issued a statewide travel ban starting at 9 p.m. Monday. He warned that up to 100,000 people could lose power in his state — and outages could last several days.
"We have been down this road before," Malloy said at a Monday press conference. "We will get through this storm together."
In Philadelphia, where forecasts ranged from 8 to 18 inches of snow, schools closed at noon Monday. Gov. Tom Wolf promised that more than 2,500 trucks would tackle the state's roads.
At the southern end of the storm, the area around Washington, D.C., was not expected to get more than a couple inches of snow.
The storm's impacts could last long after it heads offshore: Power outages, snow-packed roads and school closures may last for days after the blizzard, AccuWeather meteorologist Brian Lada said.
Coastal New England should see some of the worst impacts from the storm's pounding surf and near-hurricane force winds, including severe beach erosion and flooding of vulnerable shore roads and homes: "This storm has enough intensity that it could cause new inlets to be formed along barrier beaches," the weather service in Boston warned.
Contributing: Matthew Diebel and Yamiche Alcindor in New York; Doyle Rice and Greg Toppo in McLean, Va.
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