Blizzard Fizzles in Some Areas, Packs a Wallop Elsewhere

New Englanders show their whimsy while digging out from a major winter storm pummeling the Northeast. (Photo by @DarthVader_No1via Twitter)

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In some areas of the Northeast, the winter storm forecasters and public officials warned could be the storm of the century is more of a “flizzard” – a blizzard that’s fizzling – but in other areas, it’s living up to the hype and making life miserable for millions of New Englanders.

In New Jersey, meteorologists even apologized for the missed forecast as the storm shifted to the east, pummeling Long Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and other parts of the New England coast with one, two and even three feet of snow in some local areas.

At the most, New Jersey are getting only a few inches to a half-foot of snow.

New York City was spared the brunt of the storm that has been dubbed Winter Storm Juno by The Weather Channel, and was stirring back to life with the resumption of public transportation after being shut down overnight by bans on everything from fast-food delivery to travel.

The city received only about 7.8 inches at Central Park, according to The Weather Channel.

Long Island Under 2 Feet of Snow

The situation was far different on Long Island, where residents and businesses are digging out from more than 28 inches of snow in some areas.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo lifted a travel ban for all of Long Island and the Long Island Rail Road was expected to restart service Tuesday morning, but the storm is far from over, especially in Suffolk County, which remains under a blizzard warning until midnight.

The storm had been predicted to bring 24-36 inches of snow across Long Island and New York City, but it became clear overnight that the blizzard was not treating everyone the same.

“The story on Long Island was much different than what you are seeing here,” Cuomo said during a press conference in Manhattan, which saw about 8 inches of snowfall by Tuesday morning, compared to 18-24 inches on eastern Long Island.

Much of the rest of the Northeast is in a snow globe. Travel bans remain in effect, and widespread power outages have been reported.

Massachusetts Takes Nuclear Power Plant Off Line

Nearly all of eastern Massachusetts received at least a foot of snow, with central parts of the state receiving more than two feet. Snow is still falling, blizzard conditions are expected to continue and a travel ban remains in effect.

According to The Weather Channel, up to 30 inches fell in the Framingham, MA, area, while Boston got about 18 inches of snow. Lashing, hurricane-strength winds topping 70 mph are causing some coastal flooding and road closures there.

Eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Southern New England have also seen damaging winds and some flooding along the coastline.

Power outages have not been a major problem so far, but the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant was taken off line after the Plymouth facility lost power. Public officials said the move was done as a precaution and there are no safety issues with the facility.

2 Feet of Snow in Central Connecticut

Connecticut’s total so far falls short of the 20- to 30-inch pummeling the National Weather Service predicted, but Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy wasn’t ready to say the state dodged a bullet.

Some western parts of the state received less than a foot of snow, while eastern regions of Connecticut are on track to receive the predicted 2 feet of snow. The blizzard warning remains in effect until Tuesday evening as gusty winds blow the snow around for near white-out conditions.

Malloy said the travel ban, imposed at 9 p.m. Monday, was effective. Only 11 accidents were reported overnight, and just one minor injury was sustained.

New Jersey Dodges Storm

In New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, the storm was more of a “flizzard” – a blizzard that failed.

Snow is still falling, but New Jersey and Lower Bucks County, Montgomery County and Philadelphia in Pennsylvania were only expected to get 3-4 inches of snow.

Upper Bucks County and the New Jersey Shore could see as much as 6 inches, a far cry from the hyped amount in what has been dubbed on social media as #Snowmageddon2015.

On Monday, those areas were bracing for more than a foot of snow before the storm was downgraded by forecasters Monday night.

“Thunder Snow” and Lightning Possible

The Weather Channel said the heaviest amounts from the storm through Tuesday are expected from eastern Long Island to southern and eastern New England. Only light accumulations are expected in New York City, with gusty winds continuing, but Boston, Providence, Rhode Island and Portland, ME, are expected to get up to 2 feet of snow before the storm ends.

Some locally heavier amounts of 3 feet may be reported in some areas, and blizzard conditions are expected to continue. Some areas may see thunder and lightning accompanying the heavy snow.

Also on Patch:

• Malloy: Highway Ban Remains In Effect; Local Travel Ban Partially Lifted in Select Areas
• UPDATED: Winter Storm Continues to Pummel Parts of Connecticut
• UPDATE: Connecticut Snowfall Totals
• Metro-North Service Stays Shut Down for the Storm
• 7 Things Massachusetts Learned During Charlie Baker’s Press Conference Tuesday Morning
• When is the Snow Going to End? Hour-By-Hour Forecast
• UPDATE: Forecasters Issue Apologies As New Jersey Spared From ‘Snowmageddon’
• LIFTED: Travel Ban Lifted On All New Jersey Roads
• NJ Transit, PATH Announce Service Resumptions
• LIVE VIDEO: Blizzard, Snow Hit New Jersey; Speed Restrictions
• Blizzard Watch Issued; Possible Historic Nor’Easter Approaches
• Long Island Already Under 4 Inches of Snow

(Patch editors Kara Seymour in Pennsylvania, Les Masterson in Massachusetts, Tom Davis in New Jersey, Brian McCready in Connecticut and Ryan Bonner on Long Island contributed to this report.)