NEW YORK – Millions of people along the East Coast are feeling the effects of a rapidly intensifying storm system on Wednesday. Wind gusts of more than 70 mph and heavy rains have caused power outages and significant travel delays along the I-95 corridor.

The system, which exhibited the characteristics of an atmospheric river event, began to develop over the Ohio Valley before rapidly strengthening to the northeast.

In the higher elevations of Massachusetts, wind gusts exceeded hurricane strength, and in New York City they reached gusts of nearly 50 miles per hour.

The rainfall was welcome news for much of the region as drought conditions ranged from moderate to extreme.

Providence, Rhode Island, reported a record 2.4 inches of daily precipitation Wednesday afternoon, and rainfall was still declining.

Photos and video from Boston showed parts of Interstates 93 and 90 were under water, but authorities worked quickly to clear drainage and reopen roads.

Beyond the frontal boundary, another Arctic surge is plunging into the eastern half of the country, causing nighttime temperatures to become dangerously cold.

Strong jet stream could cause chaos for flights on Wednesday

Communities across the Southeast initially reported problems related to the storm system, but outages became more frequent along the East Coast.

Fallen trees and power lines caused nearly 20,000 outages in North Carolina, with clusters of outages reported in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Utilities in the affected region have not publicly indicated that the outages will be lengthy, but any loss of service is at least an inconvenience for affected areas given the cold weather ahead.

“The strong winds expected from this storm may bring down trees and branches onto power lines and equipment, causing outages, and we are planning accordingly,” Steve Sullivan, president of Eversource Connecticut, said in a statement.

How to watch Fox Weather

How to watch Fox Weather

Airports from the nation’s capital to southern New England reported average delays of one to three hours, causing significant problems for travelers.

FlightAware.com reported that more than 4,00 flights were delayed and nearly 800 flights were canceled nationwide on Wednesday.

Boston Logan International Airport and Reagan International Airport in Washington DC reported the biggest problems

Amtrak also experienced disruptions, with slowdowns in Massachusetts due to inclement weather.

Lake effect snow will have a major impact on the Great Lakes, with several feet of accumulation expected

Flood warnings have been posted for millions of people across the region as the combination of rain and snowmelt could pose problems for communities in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Preparations for extreme weather conditions were already underway in Connecticut. Eversource – an energy provider in the state – said it was closely monitoring the forecast and planning accordingly.

And along the Great Lakes, winter weather warnings were issued for about 3 million residents as runoff from the Great Lakes was expected to lead to heavy snowfall.

The combination of gusty Winds And Blowing snow is expected to be too closeBlizzard Conditions, especially on Thursday when winds peak at 25-45 mph.

Highways like 90 and 81 inches new York These are the main routes where significant snowfall is expected and is expected to have an impact travel.

Original source of the article: Storm system on the East Coast causes power outages and significant flight delays