TERRIFYING video shows the moment when a jumbo jet skidded off the snow-covered runway at O’Hare Airport in Chicago.
The China Airlines Cargo 747 crashed into cargo bins as Storm Kenan hit the Northeast and New England, leaving thousands of flights grounded.
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One of the cargo bins was sucked into the left engine, which erupted into smoke. The plane comes to a stop after being shaken by the crash.
No injuries were reported, said the Chicago Fire Department.
The storm also made ground travel treacherous as up to two inches per hour hit major cities such as New York City, which saw eight inches. The eastern end of Long Island can expect up to 18 inches.
“This is a very serious storm,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul in a press conference. “This could be life-threatening.”
In Massachusetts, the highest snowfall reported was up to 22.5 inches in Norton.
The New England area of the US was expected to be hit the hardest, with forecasters predicting the total could beat the record of 27.6 inches set in 2003.
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Some forecasters are estimating a total of 30 inches in parts of Massachusetts and it’s possible that coastal flooding could threaten the Boston Harbor.
Over 3,500 flights were canceled across the US Saturday, including almost every flight in or out of Boston and another 1,000 flights in the New York City area.
🔵 Read our Winter Storm Kenan live blog for the latest updates
Freeze alerts were being issued as far south as Florida, according to the National Weather Service, warning of “scattered to isolated falling iguanas from trees” due to cold temperatures temporarily paralyzing the lizards.
“Heavy snow and powerful winds will spread from the Mid-Atlantic coast to the Northeast coast throughout the day,” said the NWS in a flash bulletin.
“The combination of heavy snow rates and strong winds will produce dangerous blizzard conditions across portions of the Mid-Atlantic and New England coasts, from Virginia’s Eastern Shore to eastern Maine.”
The NWS said on Friday that the storm will be “historic” for the New England area. Blizzard warnings were in place for over 10million people in mostly coastal areas from Maryland to Maine.
Over 78,000 customers were without power in Massachusetts, according to PowerOutage.Us. Cape Cod was hit the hardest with nearly a third of customers dealing with outages.
All Acela train service between DC and New York/Boston was canceled by Amtrak.
“Travel is not recommended through [Saturday] evening,” said the NWS New York City office. “If you must travel, use extreme caution and have a winter survival kit with you.”
“Get home safely tonight, remain home over the weekend, avoid any unnecessary travel,” said Hochul in a statement.
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