At least 15 people have died in the United States so far this weekend as a “bomb cyclone” rages its way across the country, all of them victims in massive traffic accidents. *
This weekend, a trifecta of snow, sub-zero temperatures and high winds slammed its way across the western and central United States before roaring into the eastern seaboard.
Snow combined with bitter cold paralyzed the city of Buffalo, in northern New York.
In the southern section of the borough of Queens in New York City – which is along the coast — residents faced torrential downpours and flooding.
In Howard Beach, Queens, flooding from Thursday night’s downpour shut down traffic near Cross Bay Boulevard. On B72nd Street people were in cleanup mode on Friday afternoon after the high tide hit, bringing with it the flood waters they thought they had escaped.
Numerous residents found their cars totaled from the rain and flood waters. Some homes were flooded as well.
In New York City’s Far Rockaway, flooding shut down numerous areas, but not before several hapless drivers got stuck in the waters.
Worse, several slabs of a dead baby sperm whale – an endangered species, by the way — were found on Rockaway Beach Boulevard, Beach 116th Street and Beach Channel Drive, according to The Rockaway Times.
In one of those “Only in Rockaway” scenarios, it appears parts of the sperm whale that was necropsied last week, is now on Rockaway Beach Blvd and Beach 116th Street. Can’t make this up. pic.twitter.com/fDhTCM52Eg
— Katie McFadden (@KatieMcFaddenNY) December 23, 2022
In New Jersey, flooding and then ice paralyzed communities across the state.
Major flooding shut down Hoboken Terminal and in Edgewater, NJ, flood waters from the rain and the Hudson River rose to the tops of cars’ tires, making travel impossible and totaling many vehicles.
And in Bay Head, New Jersey, flood waters were above the knees in some areas, making it treacherous to walk.
Now, with temperatures in the teens (Fahrenheit), those flood waters are starting to ice over, CBS New York and Fox 29 reported Saturday.
The city of Newark, New Jersey, activated a “Code Blue” on Friday, through Tuesday (Dec. 27), which is declared whenever temperatures drop below freezing (32 Fahrenheit) with precipitation, and below 25 F without precipitation, when weather conditions pose a danger to the homeless population.
Utility companies urged residents to charge their devices while it was still possible, in anticipation of possible power outages, and to download company apps so they can report such outages.
As of Saturday morning, 23,507 residents were without power in New Jersey (First Energy & PSE&G), 2,625 residents were without power in New York City and Westchester, and 1,478 residents had lost power on Long Island.
* A bomb cyclone is a storm that “intensifies very rapidly with low pressure at its center, weather fronts and an array of associated weather from blizzards to severe thunderstorms to heavy precipitation,” according to the Scientific American. It becomes a bomb when its central pressure decreases very quickly, by at least 24 millibars, in 24 hours.
