Winter Storm Hernando 'Bombs Out,' Knocks Out Power To 500,000 In Northeast; 10,000 Flights Canceled

Snow is piling up rapidly and powerful winds are making the situation worse for tens of millions in the Northeast as Winter Storm Hernando enters its second day, making travel impossible across much of the heavily populated region. Power outages continue to spike, and entire cities are shut down today.

We now have half a million customers in the dark in the Northeast due to the bomb cyclone, according to PowerOutage.us.  Winter Storm Hernando has closed dozens of school districts in the Northeast, including some of the nation's largest, like New York City and Boston.

For NYC, it's their first full closing in years. Children will be out all over the city enjoying the snow day rather than being stuck inside for a digital learning day. For those of us who reveled in the glory of snow days before digital learning, we say enjoy it and stay safe, because it's still a blizzard after all.

Only Freehold Township, New Jersey, has received 24.2 inches on the ground officially from Winter Storm Hernando. That's in Monmouth County, where 9% of all customers have lost power this morning (about 28,000 homes and businesses), according to PowerOutage.us.

As of just a few minutes ago, here are the updated snow totals from some areas in and around the Big Apple that you might recognize:

- Central Park: 15.1 inches

- LaGuardia Airport: 15.1 inches

- JFK International Airport: 15 inches

- Islip: 22.5 inches

- Newark (New Jersey): 18.3 inches

At New York’s LaGuardia Airport 2 inches per hour was reported at JFK International Airport. Providence, Rhode Island, picked up almost 14 inches of snow in just six hours.

The National Weather Service office in Upton, Long Island, reported a snowfall rate of 3 inches per hour.

As Winter Storm Hernando continues up the coast, it’s unleashing dangerous, gusty winds. Here are the top wind speeds thus far:

- Wellfleet, Massachusetts: 79 mph

- N. Kingston, Rhode Island: 73 mph

- Nantucket, Massachusetts: 70 mph

Here are some of the highest snow totals from areas of New Jersey regarding this storm, which continues to rapidly escalate, so far:

- Freehold, New Jersey: 17.9 inches

- Mount Holly, New Jersey: 16.2 inches

- South Jersey Regional Airport: 15.3 inches

According to FlightAware date, there have been more than 10,000 flights canceled from yesterday through tomorrow in the U.S., virtually all of them in the path of Winter Storm Hernando. That includes more than 5,300 flights today alone.

Another 1,300 flights have already been canceled for tomorrow, so if you have flight plans, it's best to check (frequently) with your airline, especially if you'll be flying into or out of the Northeast.

We recognize the severe impact that current conditions are having on our customers, and we are committed to restoring service levels as quickly as possible. As a result of these weather issues, the ALG Client Service Team will send daily updates as we monitor the progress and track job level.