A big winter storm is expected to hit the Northeast and New England on Friday, pummeling some parts the region with as much two feet of snow and blizzard conditions.
The National Weather Service issued a blizzard watch Thursday morning warning of snow, sleet, and wind gusts at over 35 mph in Massachusetts and New York.
The heaviest snow is expected to fall in New England, with Boston getting up to two feet. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said in a briefing on Thursday that schools will be closed on Friday and people are encouraged to stay home. The city will deploy 600 pieces of equipment by the evening to remove the accumulated snow.
New York City will get some light rain and a wintry mix on Friday morning, which will turn into snow by the afternoon. The city can expect up to 6 to 10 inches, which is putting Superstorm Sandy survivors and the Long Island Power Authority on high alert, according to NBC New York.
"LIPA and National Grid, who is responsible for our storm restoration, is closely monitoring the storm and continues to plan for the forecast, including looking at staffing levels and making sure supplies are adequately stocked," a spokesman for LIPA said.
New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a briefing on Thursday workers are preparing plows, salt and crews for longer shifts.
"We're ready for it," Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty said at the briefing.
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The blizzard could dump as much as 20 inches in parts of Connecticut, with northeasterly and northerly winds that could approach 50 mph at the peak of the storm, NBC Connecticut reported. The storm will wind down on Saturday with some snowfall lingering through the afternoon.
Pennsylvania expects some rain and around 6 inches of snow as two separate storm systems head toward the state — one from the north and one from the Gulf of Mexico.
"The end of storm like this is even trickier than the beginning of the storm as far as trying to determine how far south the significant snow is going to go," said NBC Philadelphia meteorologist Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz. "We know New England is going to get crushed — a historic blizzard up there — but the farther south you go the more questions there are about the final amount."
It's too early to predict the impact of the blizzard, but Louis Uccellini, director of the weather agency's National Centers for Environmental Prediction, told The Associated Press, "You can't let your guard down."
"This has the potential for being a dangerous storm, especially for Massachusetts into northeast Connecticut and up into Maine," Uccellini said.
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