Powerful storm bears down on U.S. East Coast
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A powerful winter storm closed in on the U.S. mid-Atlantic on Friday, threatening record snowfalls and unseasonably cold temperatures in a region heavily dependent on home heating oil and natural gas supplies.
Forecasts calling for around 2 feet (60 cm) of snow and near-blizzard conditions from Virginia to southern New Jersey prompted U.S. government offices in the Washington area to close their doors four hours early.
Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia each declared snow emergencies. The declarations allow states to activate emergency agencies including the National Guard to help prepare for the wintry onslaught and cope with its aftermath.
The giant storm system was expected to engulf the cities of Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia in a heavy blanket of snow as well, while bringing heavy rain to sections of the southeast including the Carolinas and Georgia.
The cold helped boost New York's spot natural gas market to towards winter season highs in New York, where prices reached about $11.50 per million British thermal units on average, up more than $4 from Thursday. Spot gas for Chicago rose 10 cents to above $5.70. Meanwhile, heating oil was little changed.
FREEZING TEMPERATURES
Unseasonably cold temperatures were expected in the storm's wake next week in the U.S. Northeast, which is the world's biggest heating oil market, and the Midwest, a large natural gas demand centre.
"Once we get through the weekend storm, much colder air will invade the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The outlook for the northeast third of the country next week is looking much colder than normal," said Jim Rouiller, a senior energy meteorologist at private weather forecaster Planalytics.
Meanwhile, airlines began cancelling scheduled flights for late Friday through Saturday at the Washington-Baltimore area's three main airports.
Amtrak suspended most of its passenger rail service to destinations south of Washington but said its Silver Service trains between New York and Miami would operate normally.
The storm also triggered a pandemic of school closings and long lines at supermarkets as frenzied residents stocked up food and supplies.
The same weather system brought heavy rains to parts of the southeastern United States including the Carolinas and Georgia while fuelling itself with fresh moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.
The National Weather Service issued a winter-storm warning for Washington that called for heavy snow over a 36-hour period, from mid-morning on Friday to late Saturday evening. Local weather forecasters said the storm could bring the heaviest snowfall in 100 years to the area with isolated areas in for as much as 30 inches (76 cm) of snow.
Authorities in some states urged local residents to work from home rather than brave a difficult Friday evening commute.
State dispatchers ordered thousands of trucks equipped with ploughs and road salt to strategic locations where they could begin the job of clearing roadways once snow began falling.
(Additional reporting by Ed McAllister and Eileen Moustakis in New York, Editing by Sandra Maler)