Social media shows intense so-called ‘bomb cyclone’ storm on East Coast
Jan 5, 2018, 4:12 AM | Updated: 8:51 am
(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
A massive winter storm roared into the East Coast this week, dumping as much as 17 inches of snow in some areas and unleashing hurricane-force winds and historic flooding that closed schools and offices and halted transportation from the Carolinas to Maine.
Forecasters expected the storm to be followed immediately by a blast of face-stinging cold that could break records in more than two dozen cities and bring wind chills as low as minus 40 degrees this weekend.
The so-called “bomb cyclone” storm took the East Coast by storm — for lack of better words — with many turning to social media to document the extreme weather conditions.
Pebble Ave in Winthrop. Sea wall + #Boston Harbor at end of street. #hightide #BOMBCYLONE #BombCyclone #Winthrop pic.twitter.com/3QgVUJc9e4
— donna (@StopFollowingMe) January 4, 2018
The view from Front Street in Scituate, MA. That’s all salt water, folks. #Scituate #bombcyclone pic.twitter.com/JVQDzSR9pe
— Cristela Guerra (@CristelaGuerra) January 4, 2018
Waves still crashing along Warren Ave in #Plymouth after high tide. #Boston25 #BombCyclone #BOSnow pic.twitter.com/RF9RYtWguc
— Adam Liberatore (@bostonTVguy) January 4, 2018
Here’s @kathrynburcham showing why she’s the best in one the business, floating on an ice berg to provide updates .. @boston25 pic.twitter.com/iPJf9EUiv4
— Bill Sheerin (@AssignGuy) January 4, 2018
No one was safe from the conditions, not even the New England Patriots, who were forced to brave winds and snow to walk to practice.
Blizzard warnings and states of emergency were in wide effect, and wind gusts hit more than 70 mph in places. In parts of New England, snow fell as fast as 3 inches per hour.
Four people were killed in North and South Carolina after their vehicles ran off snow-covered roads, authorities said.
Another fatality was reported near Philadelphia when a car could not stop at the bottom of a steep, snow-covered hill and slammed into a commuter train. A passenger in the vehicle was killed. No one on the train was hurt.
More than 100,000 homes and businesses lost power at some point on Thursday.
While many outages were restored by the day’s end, officials from the mid-Atlantic to New England warned that those numbers might climb again as strong wind gusts and frigid temperatures continue through Saturday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.