A deadly storm that’s left a trail of wreckage across a vast swath of the United States continued to slam the Northeast and Great Lakes regions with heavy snow, rain and wind on Thursday, knocking out power, closing schools and disrupting travel in major cities.
Meteorologists expect 1-2 feet of snow to over New England, especially in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and northeast New York, according to the National Weather Service. The combination of pummeling snow and gusty winds led to whiteout conditions and snow-covered roads in some areas. Many schools and government offices across the region were closed.
“Please stay off the roads today if you can,” said Maine Gov. Janet Mills in a post on X. “If you must drive, take it slowly, and always give plenty of room to first responders, plow trucks, and utility crews.”
The weather service issued flood advisories across parts of Illinois, east through Virginia and up to Road Island, including Washington D.C. and New York City. Over 3 inches of rain had fallen in parts of New Jersey as of Thursday morning. Meanwhile, the same storm impacted the Great Lakes, with several inches of snow reported in Wisconsin and Michigan.
More than 450,000 homes and businesses were without power across the Northeast, especially in Maine, where over 240,000 utility customers were without power as of early Thursday, according to a database maintained by USA TODAY. The Great Lakes region was not spared: Michigan and Wisconsin reported over 68,000 outages.
Airports in Boston, New York and New Jersey reported the most disruptions, with nearly 100 cancellations and 150 delays, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking website.
