Updated Dec. 31, 2019 11:56 AM
The same winter storm that shut down interstates across the northern Plains and hindered travel into the Midwest over the weekend moved eastward by the start of the week. While part of its low pressure system is wrapping around Lake Superior, burying Wisconsin and Michigan in snow, an ice storm has gripped the Northeast.
By Monday afternoon, over 500 flights at Chicago O'Hare International Airport were delayed, according to FlightAware, as tendrils of the storm reached south of Michigan and into Illinois.
In comparison, the biggest impact on air travel in the Northeast came from over 150 flights delayed at Boston Logan International Airport, according to FlightAware.
Slick road conditions contributed to several crashes in New Hampshire, though there were no reported injuries. At one point, 101 Eastbound near mile marker 118.8 was closed after a tractor trailer crash, the New Hampshire State Police reported. An hour later, it was reopened.
On Monday afternoon, about .86 inches of ice had accumulated in Massena, New York, over a period of 24 hours.
Photos from social media users from across Massachusetts and New York showed tree branches coated in a glaze of ice, a process called ice accretion.
"Ice accretion is the process by which a coating of ice forms on solid objects when freezing precipitation or supercooled fog or cloud droplets make contact with said object," AccuWeather Meteorologist Derek Witt said.
As the precipitation continues, the coating of ice can become increasingly thick. Even a coating of a quarter of an inch of ice is enough to start to tilt saplings and snap off smaller branches. Heavier accumulations of ice can fall thicker branches, endangering anyone below them. When ice accumulates around power lines, it can potentially contribute to power outages.
As little as .2 to .3 of an inch of ice can cause damage to power lines, adding 250 pounds or so of weight to a power line, Witt said.
(Twitter/@NH_StatePolice)
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A section of 101 Eastbound near mile marker 118.8 in New Hampshire was closed on Sunday afternoon after a crash involving a tractor trailer. There were no reported injuries.
"Ice accumulations greater than .5 of an inch can add 500 pounds or more to a power line, which vastly increases the potential for a power line to fail," Witt said.
Over 13,000 people without power across New York and over 50,000 customers were left in the dark across Michigan late this past weekend into the start of the week, according to PowerOutage.us. In Ohio, over 100,000 people were without power for a time due to strong winds associated with the storm system.
Hail measuring about an inch in diameter fell over Hampden, Massachusetts, and Litchfield, Connecticut, on Sunday afternoon.
Farther north, snow fell across Old Orchard Beach, Maine, making for a wintry beach scene.
Snow amounts of over 6 inches have been reported around Portland, Maine, as of early Tuesday morning.
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