If you just moved here from California (as I did in 2001) you are in for a doozy: Winter Storm Benjamin promises to bring a foot or more of snow to the region, below-zero temps and days of sold-out-supplies at your local Big Y.
About
205 million people are under some kind of winter weather watch, a watch that promises not only snow and extreme cold, but ice. Unlike the usual Northeast storm, this one also will impact, even paralyze, some parts of the Midwest as well as Southern states, including Mississippi,
Texas, and the Carolinas and the Mid Atlantic and parts of the Plains. A growing list of states have declared a state of emergency, including Texas, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia, as well as D.C., late this morning.
Ice impacts will possibly impact the District Sunday night, following the impact to more Southern regions.
Here in Connecticut we will feel the effects of this second-named storm of the season, Benjamin, by Sunday morning. However, the temperatures will quickly plummet, to as low as negative digits. If you are in a position to take in your unhoused neighbors, please consider it. The state has opened shelters, and the unhoused can call 211 for more information. For example, my library will double as a warming center over the weekend. Check Branford's Blackstone Library
website for more information.
The National Weather Service has issued the following alert for the Tri-State region:
WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM LATE SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON
* WHAT...Heavy snow. Total snow accumulations between 8 and 14
inches, with locally higher amounts possible. The snow may mix
with or change to sleet along the coast Sunday evening, limiting
accumulations to the lower end of the range. Highest totals are
expected across the interior.
* WHERE...Portions of southern Connecticut, northeast New Jersey,
and southeast New York.
* WHEN...From late Saturday night through Monday afternoon.
* IMPACTS...Roads, and especially bridges and overpasses, will
likely become slick and hazardous. Visibilities may drop below 1/4
mile due to falling and blowing snow.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The heaviest snow is likely to occur Sunday
morning into early Sunday evening.
If you are new to this kind of weather, don't panic but prepare: lots of water, enough food for a week, batteries, and charged devices. If you have your own house, have a backup generator in case you lose power. If the weather pattern shifts, don't take chances: Ice is extremely dangerous. Try to stay home (luckily this is a weekend storm). Ice can strike power lines, cause a fire, and death should you touch them.
The NWS tips to those of us in the Tri State include:
**Delaying travel from Sunday into Monday.
If travel is absolutely necessary, drive with extreme caution. Make
sure your car is winterized and in good working order. Consider
taking a winter storm kit along with you, including such items as
tire chains, booster cables, flashlight, shovel, blankets and extra
clothing. Also take water, a first aid kit, and anything else that
would help you survive in case you become stranded.
The storm is indicative of, not counter, to the universally, scientifically proven phenomenon called
climate change. Warming Arctic temps have weakened the Polar Vortex, which in past decades served to better lock extreme cold nearer the North Pole. Such changes will determine how we live, do business and travel for the rest of our lives.
Many airlines are canceling flights -- in the South, particularly, they often lack de-icing equipment -- and others are allowing cancelations, or offering credits. Make sure to call your airline, if you have not already done so, for more information.
Otherwise, take a deep breath. Stay home. Make sure your streaming services are paid and you remembered to pick up marshmallows for the hot chocolate. Enjoy, it's winter in New England!
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To look at the latest maps of the storm, please see this CBS News
article with maps.
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