(Updated, 11:45 a.m.)
PROVIDENCE – The Warwick Mall delayed its opening by two hours until noon after Rhode Islanders awoke to more than a foot of snow on Monday.
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Mall co-owner Aram Garabedian said management instituted the delay to provide store employees more time to navigate the snowy and icy roads. The parking lots, he said, are clear and the management anticipates no meaningful impact on the bottom line of the mall or its shops because of the delay, Garabedian.
Garabedian said in some ways the snow may actually help the mall. The snow led many employers to tell their workers not to come in, who may head instead to the mall.
From the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency, spokesman Steve Kass said the agency was winding down staffing its emergency operations center.
The agency activated the center on Saturday and, at the storm’s height on Sunday, had between 16 and 20 people from various state agencies and utilities. As of 11 a.m., only about seven remained, Kass said.
“I thought everybody just did a fabulous job dealing with it,” said Kass noting that there have been no reported storm-related causalities or major injuries.
The timing of the storm, on a weekend and with schools closed for vacation, was a positive factor, said Kass. State offices are also closed Monday in observance of the holiday.
Gov. Donald L. Carcieri has not declared a state of emergency and Kass said he does not anticipate that the governor will do so given the limited impact of the storm.
Nevertheless, Mass. Gov. Deval L. Patrick did declare a state of emergency, ordering non-essential state employees to stay home and encouraging businesses to let their employees stay home.
In Providence, a citywide ban on street parking will be in effect until at least 2 p.m. on Monday.
Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline has asked businesses to allow employees to work flexible hours.
Additionally, trash collection in Providence will be suspended on Monday due to the storm and will resume on Tuesday.
The National Weather Service’s blizzard warning for Rhode Island expires at noon but the high wind warning will continue to be in effect until 6 p.m.
Winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts up to 60 mph are expected.
The National Weather Service said winds could be strong enough to bring down some trees and power lines. The combination of strong winds and heavy wet snow could cause additional power outages on Block Island and the upper part of Cape Cod.
Snow accumulation reached between 10 to 16 inches in Providence and temperatures are expected to drop to the lower 20s this afternoon from the upper 20s this morning, Weather Underground said.
National Grid said 893 of its 481,123 Rhode Island customers are affected by a power outage, the majority in Newport and Washington counties.
The 405 Newport customers are expected to have their power restored by 1:00 p.m., National Grid said on its website at 10:00 a.m., and the 340 Washington customers are slated for restoration by 1:15 p.m.
Power outages are also reported in Kent County (94) and Providence County (53) and fewer than 5 customers in Bristol County.
South County Hospital said it is open and operating as normal on Monday with some exceptions. The Cardiac Rehab, Wound Care Center, Wave Van transportation, Cardiac Cath Lab will be closed or canceled. The urgent/walk-in center in East Greenwich at the Medical & Wellness Center will be open at 1 p.m.
Outpatient labs, infusion therapy and outpatient diagnostic imaging is open. However, the hospital urged that patients call before leaving home to see if there are any changes.
“It is horrendous in the New York City area,” said Tom Kines, a meteorologist in State College, Pa., to Bloomberg News. “This is about as bad as it gets. There may have been storms that equaled this, but it doesn’t get much worse than this. To get this much snow with the amount of wind that is accompanying it, that is devastating.”
The U.S. East Coast faces a second day of travel disruption after snowstorms blanketed cities from New York to Boston, closing airports and halting trains with waist-high drifts and blinding winds.
New York City’s Central Park had 20 inches (51 centimeters) of snow by 8 a.m. local time as the storm’s center shifted north and east, the National Weather Service said. Snowfall in the city eased by daybreak while National Weather Service issued blizzard warnings for Boston and into Maine.
Almost 3,000 flights were canceled in the region. John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport in New York and New Jersey’s Newark Liberty were due to reopen at 4 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said on its website.
Retail impact
The storm, with winds gusting to 30 mph (48 kph), began in New York at midday on Sunday. The day after Christmas is one of the five busiest shopping day of the year, and it may take retailers two weeks to capture sales lost yesterday, said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD Group Inc., a research firm based in Port Washington, N.Y.
Amtrak resumed limited operations between New York and Boston Monday after canceling service late Sunday.
An estimated 500 subway passengers were aboard an A train that got stuck in Queens for more than six hours after departing JFK airport, the Daily News said.
Airlines halt
Delta Air Lines Inc. scrubbed about 850 flights on Sunday, about a sixth of its daily total. United Continental Holdings Inc.’s Continental Airlines canceled 265 flights, mostly from its hub at Newark, while United Airlines nixed about 110 departures for airports in the northeastern U.S.
US Airways Group Inc. postponed 761 flights, Southwest Airlines Co. about 450, and AMR Corp.’s American Airlines about 262. American canceled 171 flights for Monday out of the Northeast, according to Mary Sanderson, a spokeswoman.
“We do expect disruptions across our services to the Eastern Seaboard today,” West said by telephone.
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