By Brian K. Sullivan Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) — Washington and Baltimore prepared today for what may be a record snowfall from an East Coast storm that prompted blizzard warnings for parts of New Jersey and tornado watches in Florida. As much as 30 inches (76 centimeters) of snow is forecast to fall overnight and into tomorrow in the Baltimore-Washington region, which would shatter records in both cities, according to the National Weather Service in Sterling, Virginia. The forecast drove up the price of natural gas futures, as well as area power prices. “Heavy snow will develop tonight to produce near-blizzard and extremely dangerous winter weather conditions tonight through Saturday morning,” according to a weather service bulletin. In Manhattan, the storm may leave 2 to 4 inches of snow, about half of what was predicted earlier, the agency said at 4:28 p.m. Its winter storm watch was lowered to an advisory. New York is on the northern edge of the storm, so Staten Island, which is under a storm warning, may get more snow than the Bronx, and even a small deviation could change the outlook, the agency said. “New York City is probably one of the toughest to call right now because there is such a sharp edge on the storm, from where there is nothing, to where there is a foot,” Tom Kines , a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania, said earlier today. Washington’s record was set by the 1922 “Knickerbocker Storm” that dropped 28 inches of snow, while Baltimore’s record of 26.8 inches came during the 2003 “Presidents’ Day Storm,” the weather service reported. Travel Disrupted The storm prompted the cancellation of more than 175 airline flights at Washington airports , left more than 17,990 people without power in North and South Carolina and drove up the price of natural gas. Flood warnings were posted from Florida to North Carolina, and blizzard warnings went up in New Jersey, including Atlantic City, as well as Delaware and Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay coast. In Florida, heavy thunderstorms swept across the center of the state, and at least one waterspout was seen near Tampa. Radar picked up a tornado near Bowling Green, about 80 miles southwest of Orlando, the weather service said. Natural gas for March delivery rose 9.9 cents, or 1.8 percent, to settle at $5.515 per million British thermal units at 2:36 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices advanced 7.5 percent this week. Virginia Emergency Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell declared a state of emergency in advance of the storm, while federal government offices in Washington closed early. Philadelphia will declare a snow emergency at 8 p.m., according to the city’s Web Site . The Amtrak national passenger rail system said most service to the south of Washington has been canceled, although the Silver Service between New York and Miami, site of this weekend’s Super Bowl game between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts, will operate. Power prices in the regions affected by the storm soared to four-week highs on the Intercontinental Exchange. In the New England Power Pool, electricity traded today for delivery on Feb. 8 surged $13.12, or 21 percent, to $76.73 a megawatt-hour. Power in the PJM Interconnection, a benchmark for the mid-Atlantic region, jumped $17.19, or 35 percent, to $66.65 a megawatt-hour. The storm is playing havoc with Virginia and Washington budgets. Virginia has already spent the $79 million it had budgeted this year for snow removal and will pay for the current storm from a $25 million reserve fund, according a statement by its Transportation Department . When the reserve fund is depleted, the state will start taking money from maintenance programs. Washington had $6.2 million for plowing and “we’re probably over budget at this point,” Karyn Le Blanc, a city spokeswoman, said by telephone. To contact the reporter on this story: Brian K. Sullivan in Boston at bsullivan10@bloomberg.net .
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Washington, Baltimore Face Record Snow as Manhattan Prepares for 4 Inches
