US snowstorm fails to eventuate in New York, hits New England

It was dubbed a Tidal Wave of Snow, a Snow Hurricane and Historic, but in the end the predicted blizzard forecasters said would hit New York and other major northeast US cities was just a snowstorm.

A man uses a shovel with a wheel to clean out a sidewalk following an overnight snowstorm in Jersey City. Photo / AP Some weathermen offered sheepish apologies after airports were closed, public transport was shutdown and travel was banned based on the forecasts.
The bans in New York and New Jersey were lifted by mid-morning on Tuesday local time.
"My deepest apologies to many key decision makers and so many members of the general public," National Weather Service meteorologist in New Jersey, Gary Szatkowski, wrote in a tweet.
The storm heaped snow on Massachusetts, with total accumulation was expected to reach or exceed 2 feet (about half a metre) in most of the state, potentially making it one of the top snowstorms of all time there.

Coastal residents braced for a powerful storm surge and the possibility of damaging flooding and beach erosion, particularly on the Cape Cod peninsula.
As dawn broke, New York City had an almost eerie feel to it. No airplanes in the sky and no trains running underground made for an unexpected quiet. Light snow fell steadily in midtown Manhattan as a few municipal trucks rumbled down empty streets.
Forecasters originally warned the storm could be historic, bringing up to 3 feet (about a metre) of snow and punishing hurricane-force winds. But early Tuesday, they downgraded most of those numbers, saying Boston and the northeastern New England region would fare the worst, but even then not as bad as expected.
As of midmorning, the Boston area had about a foot (30 centimetres) of snow, while the far eastern tip of New York's suburban Long Island had more than 2 feet (about half a metre). Snowplow operators around New England struggled to keep up, and Boston police drove several dozen doctors and nurses to work at hospitals.
Maine and New Hampshire each declared a state of emergency, and government offices in both states were closed. Cities in eastern Connecticut had accumulated more than a foot (30 centimetres) of snow.
"At 4 o'clock this morning, it was the worst I've ever seen it," said Larry Messier, a snowplow driver in Connecticut. "You could plow, and then five minutes later you'd have to plow again."
As the storm system spun northward, conditions improved quickly. Travel bans were lifted by midmorning in New Jersey and New York. New York City buses, subways and trains were restarting on a limited basis, and a return to full service was expected Wednesday.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie defended his statewide ban on travel as "absolutely the right decision to make" in light of the dire forecast.
"We were acting based on what we were being told," he said.
The National Weather Service over the weekend had issued a blizzard warning for a 250-mile (400-kilometre) swath of the region, meaning heavy, blowing snow and potential whiteout conditions.
More than 7,700 flights in and out of the Northeast were canceled, and many of them might not take off again until Wednesday. Schools and businesses let out early. Government offices closed. Shoppers stocking up on food jammed supermarkets and elbowed one another for what was left. Broadway stages went dark.
New York City's snowfall was still substantial: La Guardia International Airport recorded 11 inches (28 centimetres) of snow, and Central Park was blanketed with almost 8 inches (20 centimetres).
But Susanne Payot, a cabaret singer whose rehearsal was canceled, was not impressed: "I'm just surprised and I'm laughing out loud. This is nothing. I don't understand why the whole city shut down because of this."