Heavy, wet snow blanketed swaths of the Northeast from New England to West Virginia on Tuesday, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people amid a spring storm.
The Northeast dumped 18 inches of heavy snow on Virgil in central New York, while parts of eastern Pennsylvania received up to 14 inches of snow, according to the Weather Prediction Center. The agency reported that snowfall was measured in states including Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia and West Virginia.
The storm also brought strong winds to New England, peaking at 142 mph at Mount Washington, New Hampshire, and 83 mph at Matinicus Rock in Maine, the National Weather Service reported.
The wind contributed to the hundreds of thousands of power outages in the Northeast caused by the late-season storm.
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The storm snapped tree limbs and knocked out power to more than 350,000 utility customers in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
Overnight, that number dropped to about 159,000, according to poweroutage.us, a website that tracks power outages across the country.
“Most of that event happened between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m. So people woke up in the dark, the alarms didn’t go off, and they realized they might be a long way from having their critical power.” Hochul said on a Tuesday. evening press conference.
At one point, about 47,000 customers were without power in northeastern Pennsylvania, with 36,000 remaining without power as of 9:00 p.m. ET, according to poweroutage.us. Most of the 39,000 outages in New England occurred in Maine and Vermont, where parts of the state received six inches of snow or more.
State officials warned it could take several days to get power back, due to the nature of the spring storm and its heavy snowfall.
Green Mountain Power, Vermont’s largest electric utility, warned residents to expect more blackouts as snow continues to fall and gusty winds hit the region.
Contributing: The Associated Press