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Emergency Alert About Blizzard Nemo Makes Snow Panic Official
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 7, 2013
Modified Feb 7, 2013
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By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 7, 2013
Modified Feb 7, 2013
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OMG, did you just get a text message, "Emergency Alert: Blizzard Warning this area til 1:00 PM EST Sat. Prepare. Avoid Travel. Check media. -NWS" This is because the National Weather Service works with cellphone carriers to distribute these messages (for instance, Verizon participates in the program).
Snow will begin tomorrow, and government officials are taking this very seriously. Mayor Bloomberg visited one of the Department of Sanitation facilities to check out the snow plows and Tweeted, "We're ready for #Nemo: we have 250,000+ tons of salt on hand, 350 salt spreaders & plows ready to be put on 1,800 Sanitation trucks."
Currently, NY State officials are asking New Yorkers to avoid traveling and add that along coastal areas in Brooklyn, Queens and Long Beach that there will be a tidal surge of 3-5 feet with strong wave action—so plan on alternate residence because of possible flooding. That's just what that area needs!
Bloomberg with the Strongest (Mayor's Office)
And here's how the National Weather Service describes the storm, using their classic BLOG COMMENTER font:
A COMPLEX WEATHER SCENARIO WILL UNFOLD ACROSS THE EASTERN HALF OF
THE NATION OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS...IN WHICH TWO WEATHER SYSTEMS
FROM THE POLAR AND SUBTROPICAL JET STREAMS WILL COMBINE TO PRODUCE A MAJOR AND POTENTIALLY HISTORIC WINTER STORM FOR THE NORTHEASTERN U.S.THE NORTHERN STREAM SYSTEM IS MOVING THROUGH THE MIDWEST THIS AFTERNOON...BRINGING RAIN TO THE MISSISSIPPI AND OHIO RIVER
VALLEYS...AND SNOW TO THE GREAT LAKES. THE SOUTHERN STREAM LOW
PRESSURE SYSTEM IS MOVING ACROSS THE GULF COAST THIS
AFTERNOON...AND SPREADING LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN ACROSS THE
SOUTHEASTERN STATES.THE GULF COAST SURFACE LOW WILL MOVE NORTHEASTWARD TO NEAR CAPE HATTERAS BY EARLY FRIDAY MORNING AS IT BEGINS TO INTERACT WITH THE SYSTEM OVER THE GREAT LAKES. THIS INTERACTION WILL RESULT IN A RAPID STRENGTHENING OF THE COASTAL SURFACE LOW DURING THE DAY ON FRIDAY AND INTO FRIDAY NIGHT AS THE STORM CONTINUES TO MOVE UP THE COAST. THE STORM SHOULD REACH ITS PEAK INTENSITY EARLY SATURDAY MORNING JUST EAST OF CAPE COD...WITH A CENTRAL PRESSURE FORECAST TO DROP BELOW 975 MB. SNOW WILL BEGIN TO SPREAD FROM THE GREAT LAKES INTO THE NORTHEASTERN STATES TONIGHT AND WILL QUICKLY EXPAND ACROSS MOST OF THE NORTHEAST BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON AS THE TWO SYSTEMS APPROACH.
MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND STRONG WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH...WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 75 MPH ARE POSSIBLE...RESULTING IN DANGEROUS BLIZZARD CONDITIONS FOR SOUTHEASTERN NEW ENGLAND. IN GENERAL...SNOWFALL TOTALS OF 1 TO 2 FEET ARE EXPECTED FROM THE EASTERN GREAT LAKES INTO THE NORTHEAST. LOCALLY HIGHER SNOWFALL AMOUNTS ARE POSSIBLE...WITH THE HEAVIEST SNOW FORECAST TO FALL ACROSS AREAS OF SOUTHEASTERN NEW ENGLAND. FOR MORE DETAILS SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...PLEASE REFER TO PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL NWS FORECAST OFFICE.
Here's the NY NWS update.
Tagged
Blizzard
mayor bloomberg
nemo
snow
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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