Tens of thousands without power in Northeast as another storm threatens the US from New Mexico to Maine
By Artemis Moshtaghian, Isa Kaufman-Geballe and Robert Shackelford, CNN
Tens of thousands of homes and businesses across multiple states in the Northeast were without power early Tuesday after a winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow across areas from central New York to the Maine-Canada border.
And while the region is expected to get a slight reprieve from heavy snow Tuesday, another storm system is forming in the southern region of the country that’s forecast to move into the Northeast later this week.
“A large-scale winter storm will move into the southern Plains Monday night and Tuesday, producing areas of heavy snow from eastern New Mexico through Oklahoma,” the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center said on Twitter.
“The storm is expected to strengthen and track northeastward from the lower Mississippi Valley to the Great Lakes Tuesday night and Wednesday, and produce a stripe of moderate to heavy snow from the Ozarks to the Great Lakes,” the agency added.
On Tuesday, parts of New England, especially southern parts of Maine, may experience light snow, National Weather Service said on its website. Meanwhile, areas across the Northeast are expected to see cold, dry air and windy conditions.
And those conditions are persisting as thousands across Massachusetts and New Hampshire are without power after wind and snow from the previous storm knocked down power lines.
“York County, Maine, has been most impacted by today’s long duration storm as leftover snow on trees and power lines from (last) Friday’s storm resulted in downed trees and blocked roads throughout the area,” Central Maine Power spokesperson Jon Breed told CNN Monday.
As of early Tuesday morning, more than 30,000 homes and businesses were in the dark in Maine’s south westernmost York County, according to the PowerOutage.us.
Snow already packed on trees from recent storms along with strong winds are likely to exacerbate damage to the electric system and bring additional outages, New England’s largest energy provider Eversource said in a statement Monday on the status of power outages in New Hampshire.
“Our system has continued to take damage into tonight, and we are actively assessing and clearing damage while also supporting public safety efforts,” Eversource spokesperson William Hinkle told CNN Monday night.
Eversource is tapping into its regional resources, bringing in additional crews from its Connecticut and Massachusetts based operations to support restoration efforts in New Hampshire, where more than 66,0000 homes and businesses were also without power Tuesday morning, according to PowerOutage.us.
About 17 inches have fallen across parts of Maine and New Hampshire while some areas in Vermont and New York saw about 14 inches of snow.
Storm to bring snow from New Mexico to Maine
The next storm is expected to impact the country for several days beginning Tuesday, when more than 15 million people are under the threat of severe storms. High wind alerts have also been issued for more 20 million people as gusts could reach as high as 55 mph.
There is an enhanced risk of severe storms (level 3 of 5) from southeastern Texas to the western Florida Panhandle, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Mobile, Alabama. The main threats are damaging winds, large hail and several tornadoes, a few of which could be strong.
A slight risk for severe storms (level 2 of 5) surrounds the enhanced risk area and includes Houston, Beaumont, Texas, and Lake Charles, Louisiana — which could also see tornadoes, damaging winds and isolated large hail.
Meanwhile, there is also a marginal risk (level 1 of 5) for the middle Texas coast, across southern Louisiana into Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle, including Corpus Christi, Texas, and Jackson, Mississippi.
On Wednesday, the severe storm threat will continue as it shifts to the east.
A slight risk of severe storms has been issued for the region of southeastern Alabama and northern Florida and expands through Georgia and the Carolinas into Virginia and includes Jacksonville, Florida, north to Virginia Beach. That region is expected to see a few tornadoes and damaging winds.
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CNN’s Aya Elamroussi contributed to this report.
