Schools Close, Thousands Still in the Dark After Freak October Storm

Dozens of schools are closed, transit lines are disrupted and hundreds of thousands are still without power Monday after a pre-Halloween storm churned through the tri-state, dumping nearly 2 feet of snow some spots.

See the latest school closings here.

West Milford, N.J. and Milbrook, N.Y., had the most snow in the area, with 19 inches and 21 inches on Saturday. New York City had far less, but still broke October snow records with its 2.9 inches in Central Park. The Bronx had 6 inches and Brooklyn saw 2 inches.

Several deaths across the Northeast are being attributed to the storm. 

 

Read on for regional updates on snowfall totals, power outages and transit suspensions.

 

NEW YORK CITY/NEW YORK STATE

New York City public schools are open Monday. Fallen trees, power outages and blocked roads were the main post-storm problems and points of focus for crews across the state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Nearly 1,000 trees in Central Park were lost in the storm, according to the Central Park Conservancy.

New York City parks were re-opened by noon Sunday, but officials advised New Yorkers to be cautious because heavy snow was still weighing down tree limbs. Crews are continuing to work citywide to address tree damage.

Metro-North trains were still affected Sunday, particularly on the Upper Harlem line north of the Southeast station. Dozens of trees are blocking parts of the track there, and a couple hundred feet of the third rail were crushed, spokeswoman Marjorie Anders told NBC New York.

Service is expected to be restored on the Upper Harlem line between Southeast and North White Plains for Monday morning. Bus service will be provided for the Wassaic branch.

Around the state, more than 200,000 customers were without power, most in the hard-hit Hudson Valley region of the state. Consolidated Edison reported almost 71,000 customers were without power in Westchester County, with the vast majority expected to be restored by late Wednesday.

Shelters are open in Bedford at the Bedford Community Center, in Yorktown at Copper Beach Middle School and in Croton at the Municipal Building at 1 Van Wyck Street. Find out more at westchestergov.com

Con Ed says it has about 6,500 customers without power in the Bronx and Staten Island, and expects its New York City customers to be restored by late Monday.

NEW JERSEY

More than 604,000 utility customers across New Jersey lost power, including Gov. Chris Christie.

On Sunday, New Jersey Central Power and Electric reported about 254,000 customers without power, mostly in northern New Jersey.

Public Service Electric and Gas Company said about 268,000 of its customers were in the dark. Beyond its line crews, PSE&G has arranged for 60 crews from Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi to work on the project, it said.

PSE&G warned power might not be fully restored until Wednesday because of the number of damaged trees and downed power lines.

Among those operating without power was Bergen Regional Medical Center in New Jersey, which was using a generator. A spokesperson for the hospital said daily operations have not been affected.

In Wayne, N.J., a man died when he struck a PSE&G utility truck parked on Hamburg Turnpike, where workers were repairing downed power lines early Sunday.

NJ Transit service will remain suspended on the Morris and Essex lines through Monday due to downed trees and overhead wires.

Montclair Rail Service remains suspended.

CONNECTICUT

More than 800,000 customers were in the dark across the state, shattering the record for a single event that was set when the remnants of Hurricane Irene hit in August.

Gov. Malloy said Sunday that some could be without power for up to a week.

The storm smashed a record for October snowfall in Connecticut, dropping 12.3 inches Saturday at Bradley International Airport, according to the National Weather Service. The previous measurable snowfall in the state was 1.7 inches on Oct. 10, 1979.

 

Partial Metro-North train service will resume on the Waterbury branch, with trains originating at Beacon Falls and connecting with main line service at Bridgeport. Train service to Waterbury will resume as soon as the last 10 miles of tracks are cleared of fallen trees. Bus service will resume Tuesday on the Danbury branch.

 

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