NEW YORK: Winter Storm Stella lashed the northeastern United States with sleet and snow Tuesday, cancelling thousands of flights, closing schools and shutting stores, but New York and Washington escaped the worst of the weather.
Blizzard warnings were issued in parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts and upstate New York, but were lifted for New York City, the US financial capital home to 8.4 million residents, where snow turned to sleet and hail.
Dire forecasts forced the postponement of the first meeting between US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Washington until Friday, but in the end, snowfall in the US capital was light.
The National Weather Service (NWS) drastically revised down New York City’s expected accumulation with 7.2 inches (18 centimeters) recorded in Central Park, and 10-13 inches in parts of neighboring New Jersey and Connecticut.
Instead the trajectory of the storm shifted west and north, bringing up to 30 inches to central parts of New York state with strong winds causing whiteout conditions, and heavy snow further north.
“The storm is not delivering as much snow as forecasted at all and that is very good for the people of New York City, but the conditions are still very dangerous,” Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters.
He urged people to stay indoors as much as possible, warning that snow, sleet and freezing rain would continue throughout the afternoon combined with wind gusts as high as 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour).
Temperatures would dip below freezing overnight, making roads and sidewalks treacherous, and a city-wide state of emergency would remain in place until midnight (0400 GMT Wednesday), he said.
