Instead, New Yorkers -- many of whom spent Monday evening frantically buying up emergency groceries -- looked out their windows to see a more modest serving of seven to nine inches of snow.
While the storm was expected to dump record snowfall on the New York City region and New England, it failed to live up to forecasts in a number of areas.
"The storm was less destructive than predicted," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said at a Tuesday morning press conference. Cuomo defended his state's decision to shutter roads, buses and subways, citing a recent snow storm that dumped around seven feet of snow on Buffalo.
Despite initial forecasts of two feet of snow or more in New York City, snowfall only totaled 11 inches at LaGuardia airport by Tuesday morning, according to The Weather Channel. Central Park saw 7.8 inches, while six inches had fallen in Newark, New Jersey. Only three to five inches fell in southern New Jersey and Pennsylvania, The Associated Press reported.
One New Jersey meteorologist tweeted his "deepest apologies" for the overhyped forecast.
My deepest apologies to many key decision makers and so many members of the general public.
— Gary Szatkowski (@GarySzatkowski) January 27, 2015Parts of eastern Long Island did see greater snowfall totals, however. Nearly 15 inches had fallen in Islip by Tuesday and snow reached nearly 25 inches elsewhere in eastern Long Island, which was more consistent with forecasts.
Similarly, some areas of Massachusetts came closer to projected amounts, with certain parts seeing totals of two feet or more.
De Blasio imposed a travel ban on non-emergency vehicles in New York City starting at 11 p.m. Monday. The ban was lifted at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.
And subway service -- which Cuomo suspended on Monday night -- "will begin coming online" at 9 a.m. Tuesday, the governor said. Sunday service, not peak workday service, was expected by noon.
As the storm blew into the city Monday night, a transit source told The Brooklyn Paper that Cuomo's decision to shut down the city's subway system was misguided, since empty trains would still have to run beneath the city in order to keep the tracks clear.
"I think it’s horrible, purely political decision, not based on anything that’s needed,” the source, who wished to remain anonymous, told the paper. “It seemed like cutting out a necessary lifeline unnecessarily.”
The city's students, meanwhile, are still enjoying a rare snow day, with today's scheduled Regent exams postponed to later this week.
Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy (D) announced Tuesday morning that only travel bans in Fairfield and Litchfield county were lifted. Malloy said only one minor injury was reported on roads in his state last night. A statewide travel ban in New Jersey was fully lifted.
The storm did have a major impact on air travel, with more than 7,700 flights in and out of the Northeast canceled, according to the AP.
At least one death was blamed on the snow storm. A 17-year-old boy died in a snow-tubing accident on Long Island Monday night, Newsday reported.
The storm was also expected to be difficult for New York City's homeless population and to pose challenges for the city's Department of Homeless Services. "Our outreach efforts are in full force," DHS Commissioner Gilbert Taylor said at a press conference Monday. "We have doubled efforts to bring people into shelter."
An updated snowfall range forecast as of Tuesday morning:
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/27/northeast-snow-storm-slow_n_6553994.html?utm_hp_ref=travel&ir=Travel and provided by entertainment-movie-news.com
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