NEW YORK — A storm packing blizzard conditions spun up the East Coast early Tuesday, pounding parts of coastal New Jersey northward through Maine with high winds and heavy snow.
While the storm failed to live up to predictions in some areas, eastern Long Island north through Massachusetts and Maine were expected to fare the worst, with 1 to 3 feet of snow, punishing hurricane-force winds and the possibility of some coastal flooding, according to the National Weather Service.
Bruce Sullivan of the National Weather Service said Boston and Providence, R.I., could get about 2 feet.
Islip on Long Island had 14 inches of snow by early Tuesday, but a blizzard warning was lifted for New York City.
Parts of New York were forecast to see from 10 to 20 inches of snow, while in Hartford, Conn., up to a foot was expected, and Philadelphia and central New Jersey about 6 inches.
Gusty winds blew through the northeast, with sustained winds of 15 to 25 mph. The weather service said higher gusts were reported from New Jersey to near Boston, where the winds were clocked at 40 to 50 mph. At Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, gusts of 50 to 60 mph were reported.
The National Weather Service over the weekend had issued a blizzard warning for a 250-mile swath of the region, meaning heavy, blowing snow and potential whiteout conditions.
On Monday, life abruptly stopped across the region as officials ordered workers to go home early, banned travel, closed bridges and tunnels, and assembled their biggest plowing crews. Travel bans were lifted Tuesday morning in New Jersey and New York City, and transit will restart soon.
More than 7,700 flights in and out of the Northeast were canceled, and many of them may not take off again until Wednesday. Schools and businesses let out early. Government offices closed. Shoppers stocking up on food jammed supermarkets and elbowed one another for what was left. Broadway stages went dark.
Mayor Bill de Blasio urged New Yorkers to go home and stay there, adding: "People have to make smart decisions from this point on."
