Northeast residents digging out, moving on from snowstorm
By The Associated Press
Areas of the busy Northeast corridor were left to deal with a storm that packed a winter wallop of heavy snow and high winds for some and left others with more typical snow accumulations.
Here's what residents of the big cities in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic need to know moving forward:
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THE STORM
The nor'easter was predicted to continue to pound Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine with snow and wind through Tuesday.
Total accumulation was expected to reach or exceed two feet in most of Massachusetts, potentially making it one of the top snowstorms of all time
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GOOD NEWS FOR MASSACHUSETTS
Gov. Charlie Baker said somewhat colder-than-expected weather produced light and fluffy snow, which may have helped to keep the overall number of power outages down. Early Tuesday, National Grid and NStar each had about 7,000 customers without power.
Flooding along the coast had been a major concern of state officials, but the 4:30 a.m. high tide passed without any "catastrophic, life-threatening situations," said Kurt Schwartz, the state's emergency management director.
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ROAD OPENINGS
Motorists were cleared to get back on the roads New Jersey and New York City, and subways and buses were restarting.
A snowstorm-related New York City area travel ban was lifted, except for Suffolk County on Long Island. Drivers were urged to used extreme caution.
Subway, bus and rail service were to start phasing in service around midmorning, and were expected to be back on a Sunday schedule by noon.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie lifted the ban on travel statewide at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. The restrictions were put in place on Monday night to aid plowing.
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ON THE RAILS
Amtrak suspended service north of New York and reduced its schedule for trains operating south of New York.
Northeast Regional and Acela Express services operated on a reduced schedule between New York and Washington. The Keystone Service between New York and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, also was reduced.
Northeast Regional and Acela Express service was suspended between New York and Boston. Also suspended was service between New York and Albany-Rensselaer, New York.
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TRAVEL WOES
Travelers trying to fly in or out of the Washington-Baltimore region faced more headaches Tuesday because of winter weather.
According to the flight tracking service FlightAware more than 220 flights in and out of Reagan National Airport were canceled.
At Baltimore's airport, about 90 flights in and out were canceled. And at Dulles International Airport, more than 70 flights were canceled.
Across the Northeast corridor, thousands of flights were canceled because of a nor'easter that began moving in Monday morning and continued Tuesday.
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MAINE AND NEW HAMPSHIRE
A state of emergency was declared in both Maine and New Hampshire and all government offices in both states were closed Tuesday.