Skip to Content Facebook Feature Image

Storm gone, but cold will stick around through weekend

News

Storm gone, but cold will stick around through weekend
News

News

Storm gone, but cold will stick around through weekend

2018-01-06 11:50 Last Updated At:13:17

Frigid temperatures, some that felt as cold as minus 30 degrees, moved across the East Coast on Friday as the region dug out from a massive winter storm that brought more than a foot of snow, hurricane-force winds and coastal flooding a day earlier.

Forecasters predicted strong winds and record-breaking cold air to hang around through the weekend.

Jess Flarity, a 32-year-old visiting a friend in Concord, New Hampshire, said the deep chill reminded him of his time in Alaska.

Chris Green digs out his snow covered car in the South Boston neighborhood of Boston, Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. Frigid temperatures, some that could feel as cold as minus 30 degrees, moved across the East Coast on Friday as the region attempted to clean up from a massive winter storm. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Chris Green digs out his snow covered car in the South Boston neighborhood of Boston, Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. Frigid temperatures, some that could feel as cold as minus 30 degrees, moved across the East Coast on Friday as the region attempted to clean up from a massive winter storm. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

"I've been in minus 60 before so minus 20 doesn't frighten me," he said as he waited for a bus back to Boston Friday. "But I did have to prepare, bring some extra cold weather gear — gloves, boots and those kinds of things."

In Portland, Maine, Jeanne Paterak said the cold snap revived her worries about the impact of climate change. "We are seeing some historic temperatures and everyone will be vulnerable," she said as she stocked up on milk, vegetables and juice at a supermarket Friday morning.

The arctic blast could make temperatures feel as low as minus 15 degrees to minus 25 from Philadelphia to Boston and make residents of states like Maryland and Virginia shiver from temperatures ranging from 10 degrees to 15 degrees. The wind chill could make it feel like minus 35 degrees in the Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts, the National Weather Service said.

Thursday's storm packed wind gusts of more than 70 mph (113 kph) and dumped as much as 18 inches (46 centimeters) of snow in some places.

Mollie Lane carries a shovel-full of snow down the street to a pile while digging her car out in the South Boston neighborhood of Boston, Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. Frigid temperatures, some that could feel as cold as minus 30 degrees, moved across the East Coast on Friday as the region attempted to clean up from a massive winter storm. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Mollie Lane carries a shovel-full of snow down the street to a pile while digging her car out in the South Boston neighborhood of Boston, Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. Frigid temperatures, some that could feel as cold as minus 30 degrees, moved across the East Coast on Friday as the region attempted to clean up from a massive winter storm. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

It caused school and business closings, airline and rail service cancellations or reductions and thousands of utilities outages, many of them restored quickly. Some ferry services also had to be shut down.

Flights resumed at airports along the East Coast after hundreds were canceled Thursday.

Massachusetts officials said the storm caused more than 1 million gallons of untreated sewage to spill into Nantucket Harbor after a huge sewer main break. In Gloucester, north of Boston, an estimated 50 cars were destroyed in a school parking lot after a storm surge submerged the lot under a few feet of salt water.

In New Jersey, gusty winds carried flames from a vacant building across the street to two other buildings Friday morning. The flames also spread to two structures adjacent to the vacant building, damaging a total of five in Newark. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries.

In the South, the winter weather forced portable toilets to be put in place outside Mississippi's Capitol after pipes burst and it caused iguanas to become sluggish and topple from trees in South Florida. Residents of southeast Georgia were treated to a rare half foot of snow (15 centimeters).

Waves pound the shore at Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada, on Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. Work crews were fanning out across areas of Atlantic Canada today to restore power and begin cleaning up in the wake of a powerful storm that knocked out electricity to tens of thousands of residents. (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press via AP)

Waves pound the shore at Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada, on Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. Work crews were fanning out across areas of Atlantic Canada today to restore power and begin cleaning up in the wake of a powerful storm that knocked out electricity to tens of thousands of residents. (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press via AP)

In New England, powerful winds brought coastal flooding that reached historic levels in some communities.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed Friday that water levels in Boston broke the record set during a massive blizzard in 1978.

The flooding sent large trash containers floating down Boston streets, forced the shutdown of a subway station as water cascaded down the steps and prompted rescues of people trapped in cars and homes by rapidly rising waters in several Massachusetts communities.

In Scituate, south of Boston, residents were spending Friday trying to dry out their basements before more frigid temperatures arrived.

Longtime resident Dianne Davis said her home was completely surrounded by ocean water that eventually filled her basement.

"I've never been afraid, but when the water was coming up over my front steps, that's when I said ... 'OK this is getting serious.'" said Davis.

People walk between large piles of plowed snow outside Quincy Market, Friday, Jan. 5, 2018, in Boston, following Thursday's snowstorm. Forecasters say Friday will bring a blast of record-breaking cold air and bitter winds that could make it feel as low as minus 15 degrees throughout much of the Northeast this weekend. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes)

People walk between large piles of plowed snow outside Quincy Market, Friday, Jan. 5, 2018, in Boston, following Thursday's snowstorm. Forecasters say Friday will bring a blast of record-breaking cold air and bitter winds that could make it feel as low as minus 15 degrees throughout much of the Northeast this weekend. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes)

At least 10 people died in weather-related accidents, including a 13-year-old girl who was sickened by carbon monoxide in an apartment building in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.

In Massachusetts, a worker suffered cardiac arrest and died Friday while clearing snow at a Massachusetts Water Resources Authority facility. Two people died of cardiac arrest during the storm Thursday on New York's Long Island, officials said. And in Maine, authorities on Friday said they're still searching for a clammer who disappeared during the blizzard.

Sunday morning was expected to bring the coldest temperatures from Portland, Maine, to Washington, D.C. More seasonable weather is expected to return early next week with temperatures in the high 30s and near 40s.

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras (AP) — Tropical Storm Sara stalled over Honduras on Saturday, drenching the northern coast of the Central American nation, swelling rivers and trapping some people at home.

Sustained rain fell overnight and continued into the morning in the city of San Pedro Sula, where the storm cut off access to an entire community when a river crossing washed away. And through the weekend, the region could see life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.

The weather system made landfall late Thursday about 105 miles (165 kilometers) west-northwest of Cabo Gracias a Dios, on the Honduras-Nicaragua border. The Hurricane Center expects the storm will move near the Bay Islands of Honduras on Saturday before approaching Belize.

Sara is then expected to turn northwesterly toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, though forecasters said it probably will not reemerge into the Gulf after crossing the Yucatan.

Rain-soaked residents were on edge Saturday as the conditions brought back memories of the disastrous November 2020 hurricane season, when two powerful storms passed through the region, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and causing widespread damage.

Standing on a riverbank, Carlos Canelas, 48, acknowledged many residents like his mother had ignored official warnings to evacuate the Flor de Cuba neighborhood of San Pedro Sula. By Saturday morning, the 77-year-old woman was cut off from the rest of the city because the river crossing collapsed and remained home with her 35-year-old special-needs son.

“That is why I did not go to work, but there is little or nothing I can do,” he said. "I can cross the river swimming, but how do I get my mother out?

The storm, however, did not stop a CONCACAF Nations League soccer match Friday in San Pedro Sula. Under heavy rain, Mexico lost 2-0 to Honduras.

In November 2020, Eta and Iota passed through Honduras after initially making landfall in Nicaragua as powerful Category 4 hurricanes. Northern Honduras caught the worst of the storms with torrential rains that set off flooding that displaced hundreds of thousands. Eta alone was responsible for as much as 30 inches (76 cm) of rain along the northern coast.

Associated Press writer Regina Garcia Cano contributed to this report from Mexico City.

People stand at a pedestrian bridge collapsed due to flooding caused by rains brought on by Tropical Storm Sara in San Pedro Sula, Honduras Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

People stand at a pedestrian bridge collapsed due to flooding caused by rains brought on by Tropical Storm Sara in San Pedro Sula, Honduras Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

A pedestrian bridge collapsed due to flooding caused by rains brought on by Tropical Storm Sara in San Pedro Sula, Honduras Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

A pedestrian bridge collapsed due to flooding caused by rains brought on by Tropical Storm Sara in San Pedro Sula, Honduras Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Recommended Articles