Northeast US blasted by second winter storm in a week bringing heavy snow and strong winds

Officials urge people to stay safe and off the roads during the storm that has brought '#thundersnow'

A woman waits to cross the street in New Jersey (Getty)

The northeast United States is getting hammered with the second major winter storm in a week, pushing back springtime weather just a little longer after a bizarre winter that has seen temperatures in the region dip to incredible lows and set record breaking highs.

Perhaps for the last time this season, camera crews and reporters wearing puffy jackets dutifully marched out into the elements to report on that strange weather once more, capturing white out scenes on tape and spreading the word about “#thundersnow”.

The National Weather Service had issued winter storm warnings from Maine down to Pennsylvania, projecting that more than a foot of snow could fall in some parts of the storm-weary region, while some coastal towns could see a repeat of the devastating floods that had arrived just days earlier.

While some parts of the region — in upstate New York, pastoral New England, and the bucolic communities surrounding Philadelphia, for example — were still working to restore power after that storm, officials warned that a new wave of power outages were likely to once again sweep through.

“The snow has started coming down in parts of our state and the timing will significantly impact the afternoon commute, making travel treacherous later in the afternoon, and this evening,” Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy said during an afternoon press briefing, adding that non-essential state employees were being released from their duties to avoid the heavy snows expected later in the day.

The expected snowfall levels ranged from as many as 18 inches outside of Boston and in Connecticut, anywhere between seven and 11 inches in southeastern New York State, as many as 15 inches in New Jersey, and between six and eight inches outside of Baltimore and Washington.

Eyeing those heavy snowfalls, airlines cancelled 2,500 flights in the region, with a huge chunk of those coming from New York City area airports, followed by the airports in Boston and Philadelphia, according to the online tracking website FlightAware.

Schools were impacted as well, with every school in Philadelphia shuttering its doors and officials in Massachusetts urging everyone to simply stay home as state workers continue to rush through repairs following the last winter storm, Reilly.

“This storm will bring heavy snowfall to areas across the state throughout Wednesday and into Thursday, which could create hazardous travel conditions, especially for the Wednesday evening commute when the snowfall may be at its heaviest,” Massachusetts Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said.

“We advise members of the public to stay off the roads if possible, consider working from home or postponing travel plans and taking public transit if they must travel during this storm. Those who are out on the roadways should give themselves extra time to reach their destinations, travel at reduced speeds, and leave plenty of space between themselves and other vehicles.”

Arming themselves for the coming battle against the elements, states and municipalities sent out fleets of snow ploughs and trucks to spread salt on the freezing roads. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced he had sent 1,600 ploughs into his five boroughs, Philadelphia officials announced their emergency officials were packing 40,000 tons of salt, and Mr Malloy said he had sent out more than 634 ploughs in his state.

“Please check in on your neighours, particularly seniors or people with medical conditions,” Mr de Blasio tweeted, adding that residents who experience heat or hot water problems should contact emergency services immediately. “We ask all New Yorkers to exercise caution on their evening commutes as the snow will intensify around the evening rush hour.”

But, while concerns for safety against the dropping temperatures and flooding coastlines remained the top concern for officials in the region, others managed to marvel at the some of the stranger aspects of the weather.

Soon after a flash of lightning hit outside of New York City, a rumbling thunder could be heard as snow flurried to the ground. Almost immediately, the city’s tech-friendly residents began to tweet about the uncommon phenomenon. Residents in Philadelphia and the surrounding regions also got in on the action after they heard their own rumblings, making the hashtag “thundersnow” begin to trend on the social media platform.

“Just experienced #THUNDERSNOW for the first time of my life and let me tell you it is everything I thought could be,” one user tweeted after the phenomenon.