Weather and Natural Disasters

Near 'weather bomb' conditions drench Northeast on Sandy anniversary

Doyle Rice
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Commuters walk through a wintry mix of snow and sleet during the morning rush hour in the Financial District of New York City.
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A potent storm continued to lash the Northeast and New England with howling winds and heavy rain on Monday, leaving some 1.2 million customers powerless along with travel delays and school cancellations.

As of early Monday morning, over 1.2 million customers were without power in the Northeast, according to poweroutage.us.

At New York's LaGuardia Airport, inbound flights were delayed an average of 2 hours 4 minutes due to wind, Flightaware.com said.

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The storm was described as a "bomb" since it underwent what meteorologists call "bombogenisis," which occurs when a storm rapidly intensifies as its center moves out over the ocean.

This storm system also received an injection of moisture and energy from ex-Tropical Storm Philippe, weather.com said.

Heavy rain will continue to pelt the region on Monday. Flood watches and warnings remained in effect in New York State and across northern New England.

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National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Dellicarpini said there were reports of downed trees and power lines around the region and roads that were impassable in spots due to flash flooding.

Strong winds were reported, with wind gusts of 70 mph or more in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. A gust of 82 mph was reported in Mashpee, Mass.

Much of New England was under a high wind while hurricane force wind warnings were in effect for the coastal and offshore waters.

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The weather prompted dozens of schools across New England to either cancel classes entirely or delay the start of school.

Light snow is also likely over the highest elevations of the central Appalachians, the weather service said.

The storm began making its way up the East Coast on Sunday, which also was the fifth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy.

Any possible damage from the storm will barely register when compared to the destruction wrought by Sandy. Overall, Sandy was blamed for more than 200 deaths, with damages estimated at $75 billion.

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Sandy hammered the Caribbean before its march up the U.S., smashing into the New Jersey coast near Brigantine on Oct. 29, 2012. The massive storm arrived near high tide during a full moon, flooding New York City streets and tunnels and cutting off power to millions.

"Five years ago today Superstorm Sandy ravaged our state," Cuomo said on Twitter. "I'm proud of the work all New Yorkers have done to build back stronger than ever."

Contributing: The Associated Press.