'Bomb cyclone' snowstorm dumps 3 feet of snow on Northeast

Millions across the northeastern United States on Tuesday contended with treks to school and work as they dug out from a major — in some areas record-breaking — storm that blanketed the region with snow, canceled flights, disrupted transit and downed power lines.

The weather service referred to Monday’s storm as a “classic bomb cyclone/nor’easter off the Northeast coast.” A bomb cyclone happens when a storm’s pressure falls by a certain amount within a 24-hour period.

Roughly 2,200 flights in and out of the United States were canceled Tuesday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Most of the cancellations involved airports in New York, New Jersey and Boston.

Rhode Island’s T.F. Green International Airport paused its airport operations Monday as it dealt with nearly 38 inches of snow, according to the Weather Service, breaking a record of 28.6 inches set in 1978. The pause continued through Tuesday morning as the airport assessed conditions.

The storm forced the venerable Boston Globe to cancel printing of its daily newspaper for the first time in 153 years when employees couldn't get to work.

By Tuesday morning, roads began to reopen, mass transportation was coming back online in some cities and power had returned for some of the hundreds of thousands who had lost electricity in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Delaware and Rhode Island.

Amtrak canceled some trains between Boston and New York and between New York and Philadelphia on Tuesday morning.

The weather service said it’s tracking another storm that could bring more snow to the region later this week. A combination of rain and snow is expected Wednesday, with up to a couple of inches of possible snow.


(AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)