Tag Archives: Northeast

Electric Grid unreliable, inadequate: White House issues a National Emergency Executive Order

Important Takeaways:

  • EXECUTIVE ORDER
  • By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America including the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (“NEA”), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, it is hereby ordered:
  • Section 1.   The energy and critical minerals (“energy”) identification, leasing, development, production, transportation, refining, and generation capacity of the United States are all far too inadequate to meet our Nation’s needs.  We need a reliable, diversified, and affordable supply of energy to drive our Nation’s manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, and defense industries, and to sustain the basics of modern life and military preparedness.  Caused by the harmful and shortsighted policies of the previous administration, our Nation’s inadequate energy supply and infrastructure causes and makes worse the high energy prices that devastate Americans, particularly those living on low- and fixed-incomes.
  • This active threat to the American people from high energy prices is exacerbated by our Nation’s diminished capacity to insulate itself from hostile foreign actors. Energy security is an increasingly crucial theater of global competition.  In an effort to harm the American people, hostile state and non-state foreign actors have targeted our domestic energy infrastructure, weaponized our reliance on foreign energy, and abused their ability to cause dramatic swings within international commodity markets.  An affordable and reliable domestic supply of energy is a fundamental requirement for the national and economic security of any nation.
  • The integrity and expansion of our Nation’s energy infrastructure —- from coast to coast -— is an immediate and pressing priority for the protection of the United States’ national and economic security. It is imperative that the Federal government puts the physical and economic wellbeing of the American people first.
  • Moreover, the United States has the potential to use its unrealized energy resources domestically, and to sell to international allies and partners a reliable, diversified, and affordable supply of energy. This would create jobs and economic prosperity for Americans forgotten in the present economy, improve the United States’ trade balance, help our country compete with hostile foreign powers, strengthen relations with allies and partners, and support international peace and security.  Accordingly, our Nation’s dangerous energy situation inflicts unnecessary and perilous constraints on our foreign policy.
  • The policies of the previous administration have driven our Nation into a national emergency, where a precariously inadequate and intermittent energy supply, and an increasingly unreliable grid, require swift and decisive action. Without immediate remedy, this situation will dramatically deteriorate in the near future due to a high demand for energy and natural resources to power the next generation of technology.  The United States’ ability to remain at the forefront of technological innovation depends on a reliable supply of energy and the integrity of our Nation’s electrical grid.  Our Nation’s current inadequate development of domestic energy resources leaves us vulnerable to hostile foreign actors and poses an imminent and growing threat to the United States’ prosperity and national security.
  • These numerous problems are most pronounced in our Nation’s Northeast and West Coast, where dangerous State and local policies jeopardize our Nation’s core national defense and security needs, and devastate the prosperity of not only local residents but the entire United States population. The United States’ insufficient energy production, transportation, refining, and generation constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to our Nation’s economy, national security, and foreign policy.  In light of these findings, I hereby declare a national emergency.
  • [Read more on the White House website]

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Winter storm brings power outages and canceled flights to the Northeast

Important Takeaways:

  • A fast-moving storm traveling through the Northeast with a ‘dangerous’ combination of snow and sleet has forced hundreds of flights to be canceled as thousands go without power.
  • The wild weather kicked off Saturday evening across portions of the Upper Great Lakes and intensified as it moved east – covering major cities including Boston and New York in white.
  • More than 3,300 flights to, from or within the US were delayed and at least 300 were canceled on Saturday, according to Flight Aware.
  • About 68 million people from the Midwest to the Northeast are under severe winter weather warnings, CNN reported.

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2,000-mile winter storm to wash out the Northeast

Map displaying Northeast and the Interstate 95 corridor this week

Important Takeaways:

  • A powerful two-pronged winter storm spanning nearly 2,000 miles has brought stark contrasts across the nation this week. While parts of the Northeast brace for icy conditions, the South faces the threat of torrential downpours and flash flooding.
  • Travelers should anticipate significant disruptions, while residents should prepare for potential floods, severe thunderstorms, strong winds and heavy snowfall.
  • Multiple rounds of heavy rain will drench the Deep South, particularly in parts of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia, according to the FOX Forecast Center. Rain totals will range from 2-3 inches, with locally higher amounts of more than 5 inches possible.
  • Rounds of beneficial rain will soak the Northeast and the Interstate 95 corridor likely through the early hours of Thursday, according to the FOX Forecast Center. Areas along I-95 could receive 3-5 inches of rain.
  • Wednesday is shaping up to be a washout, with an elevated risk of flash flooding along the I-95 corridor, according to the FOX Forecast Center. This rain will arrive well ahead of the advancing cold front, driven by tropical-like moisture streaming out of the Southeast.

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Dry conditions on East and West Coasts have firefighters scrambling to keep wildfires under control

Mountain Fire Camarillo

Important Takeaways:

  • Firefighters in California gained a foothold in the battle against a wildfire north of Los Angeles while weather officials on Tuesday issued red flag warnings across the Northeast where blazes turned deadly over the weekend.
  • The Mountain Fire in California’s Ventura County burned 20,630 acres of land as of Tuesday, an amount it has held near for several days after 80 mph winds fueled its explosive growth last week. As winds slowed, firefighters managed to bring the containment level to 42%, allowing officials to downgrade several evacuation orders. The fire has torched nearly 200 homes and businesses, injured six people and threatened thousands of structures.
  • In the Northeast, weather officials issued red flag warnings from New Jersey to Massachusetts after a bout of modest weekend rainfall failed to douse the region’s wildfire threat.
  • The rain helped firefighters gain some control over the Jennings Creek wildfire along the New Jersey-New York border, which has engulfed 3,500 acres and was 20% contained by Monday night. In anticipation of Tuesday’s winds and dry conditions, fire officials fortified control lines along the blaze’s east side.
  • Some 82 brush fires were being monitored across Connecticut…
  • Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont declared a Stage 2 drought advisory for all eight counties in Connecticut over the weekend, citing “far below normal precipitation levels and ongoing fire danger levels statewide,” according to a statement from his office.
  • In Massachusetts, officials said firefighters were battling dozens of wildfires throughout the state. In October, the state’s Department of Fire Service recorded 200 wildland fires, a 1,200% increase from the month’s average total of 15 fires.

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Nor’easter blasts New York, Boston while snow buries northern New England

power-outage-northeast

Important Takeaways:

  • Winter has some tricks left up its sleeve as millions of people across the region brace for a nor’easter that’s impacting cities like Boston and New York City with wind gusts up to 60 mph and heavy rain, while areas farther north are preparing for the possibility of feet of snow
  • More than 116,000 customers lost power in Maine as of Thursday morning while 48,000 New Yorkers were left in the dark
  • This comes after the Midwest and Great Lakes region saw their fair share of winter weather, with portions of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula under a Blizzard Warning while other areas of the state, as well as parts of Wisconsin, remain under Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories.
  • Flooding a concern due to heavy rain, melting snow

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Northeast rationing heating oil as already high cost of oil is expected to become even higher

Revelations 18:23:’For the merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.’

Important Takeaways:

  • Heating oil company warns ‘perfect storm’ coming this winter unless supplies are replenished
  • Oil executive Sam Livieri issued a stern warning to Americans on the ability to heat their homes as winter draws closer. Livieri said Tuesday that with a low supply of heating oil, the country could see a “perfect storm,” particularly in New England.
  • States in the Northeast are reportedly already rationing heating oil as prices rise.
  • Livieri said prices are roughly 40% higher than in 2021 and are expected to skyrocket when demand reaches its peak in the winter months.
  • Livieri said the high costs are “detrimental,” particularly for the elderly and people on fixed incomes. A 275-gallon tank, he estimated, currently costs consumers more than $1,100 to fill.

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Here come storms Nancy and Oaklee bringing snow, ice and gusty wind

Important Takeaways:

  • A tale of two storms: Millions of Americans across the Northeast are warned to brace for a polar plunge as Storm Nancy blows in sending temperatures plummeting by up to 30 degrees before Storm Oaklee is due to batter the area days later
  • Storm Nancy will send temperatures plummeting by up to 30 degrees in the Midwest and Northeast could bring over a foot of snow in some places
  • Oaklee is expected to make landfall in California on Tuesday but will gather strength as it sweeps eastwards
  • The storms represent yet more misery for millions who were battered by brutal weather late last week
  • Alabama Power customers were without electricity on Thursday and Friday in the state amid tornadoes, while further north, 13,000 were without power in Tennessee; 14,000 in Kentucky; 16,000 in darkness in Ohio and 18,000 in Pennsylvania.
  • Meanwhile, 40mph gusts in Illinois whipped up blizzards which caused a pile-up of more than 100 cars and trucks on Interstate 39

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Fears of COVID-19 resurgence spread to East Coast as grim U.S. records mount

By Maria Caspani and Anurag Maan

NEW YORK (Reuters) – As COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths surge across the United States, more signs emerged that a second wave could engulf areas of the Northeast, which managed to bring the pandemic under control after being battered last spring.

In New Jersey, one of the early U.S. hotspots, a spike in cases in Newark, the state’s largest city, prompted Mayor Ras Baraka to implement aggressive measures, including a mandatory curfew for certain areas, to contain the spread of the virus.

New York state and city officials also reported a worrying rise in the seven-day average infection rate that raised the specter of stricter mitigation measures adopted at the height of the pandemic.

“This is our LAST chance to stop a second wave,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio wrote on Twitter on Wednesday as he announced the seven-day average positivity rate citywide was 2.52%. The city’s public school system, the largest in the country, would have to shut down if that figure reached 3%.

“We can do it, but we have to act NOW,” he said.

The United States as a whole reported more than 1,450 deaths on Tuesday, the highest single-day count since mid-August, according to a Reuters analysis.

U.S. COVID-19 cases climbed for seven days straight to reach more than 136,000 as of late Tuesday while hospitalizations, a key metric of the pandemic, crossed 60,000 for the first time since the pandemic began.

In Newark, the positivity rate hovered at 19%, more than double the state’s 7.74% seven-day average, Baraka said in a statement released on Tuesday.

“Stricter measures are required in the city’s hotspots in order to contain the virus and limit the spread,” he said.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced some restrictions on Monday in response to a rise in COVID-19 cases in the state, and outbreaks among bartenders.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a press release on Tuesday that New York’s positivity rate had climbed above 3% for the first time in weeks.

In Maryland, where the positivity rate stood at 5.6% on Wednesday, officials warned about rising COVID-19 hospitalizations. More than 800 people were being treated for the coronavirus at state hospitals as of Wednesday, according to Mike Ricci, the communications director of Governor Larry Hogan, the highest daily count since April, a Reuters tally showed.

A record number of people died of coronavirus in several Midwest and western states on Tuesday, including in Alaska, Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Officials in states hardest-hit by the virus pleaded with residents to stay home as much as possible and heed the advice of experts by wearing masks, washing their hands and social distancing.

“It’s not safe to go out, it’s not safe to have others over — it’s just not safe. And it might not be safe for a while yet,” Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said during a primetime address on Tuesday. “So, please, cancel the happy hours, dinner parties, sleepovers and playdates at your home.”

(Reporting by Maria Caspani in New York and Anurag Maan in Bengaluru, Editing by Nick Macfie)

COVID-19 cases rise in U.S. Midwest and Northeast, deaths fall for third week

(Reuters) – Several states in the U.S. Midwest and Northeast have seen new COVID-19 cases increase for two weeks in a row, though nationally both new infections and deaths last week remained on a downward trend, a Reuters analysis showed.

The United States reported more than 287,000 new cases in the week ended Sept. 6, down 1.4% from the previous week and marking the seventh straight week of declines. More than 5,800 people died from COVID-19 last week, the third week in a row that the death rate has fallen.

Nevertheless, 17 states have seen cases rise for at least two weeks, according to the Reuters tally of state and county reports. They include Missouri, North Dakota and Wisconsin, where between 10% and 18% of people tested had the new coronavirus.

In the Northeast, Delaware, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York also reported increases in new cases for at least two weeks, though the positive test rate ranged from a low of 0.9% in New York to a high of 4.3% in Delaware — below the 5% level the World Health Organization considers concerning.

In some states, testing has increased as schools reopened. New York City, for instance, is testing 10% to 20% of students and staff every month. The University of Illinois is testing students twice a week.

Nationally, the share of all tests that came back positive for COVID-19 fell for a fifth week to 5.5%, well below a peak of nearly 9% in mid-July, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-run effort to track the outbreak.

The United States tested on average 741,000 people a day last week, up 5% from the prior week, but down from a peak in late July of over 800,000 people a day.

(Writing by Lisa Shumaker; Graphic by Chris Canipe; Editing by Tiffany Wu)

Late winter snow hammers U.S. northeast, icy conditions ahead

A worker cuts away a tree that fell across Riverside Drive during a snow storm in upper Manhattan in New York City, New York, March 4, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar

NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York faced its biggest snowstorm of the winter on Monday as snow spread across the northeastern United States, infuriating commuters who juggled canceled planes and trains and faced icy travels ahead as temperatures plunge.

A band of winter weather stretching from Maryland to Maine dumped 15 inches (38 cm) of snow overnight on downtown Boston and 5 inches (13 cm) on New York’s Central Park, said meteorologist Marc Chenard of the National Weather Service.

A woman makes her way through the snow on cross country skis during a winter storm in Pallisades, New York March 4, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar

A woman makes her way through the snow on cross country skis during a winter storm in Pallisades, New York March 4, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar

That was enough for New York Mayor Bill de Blasio to take the rare step of shutting the nation’s largest public school system and for New Jersey Transit, the largest statewide public transportation system in the United States, to cancel about a dozen commuter trains.

“This is horrible!” said Steve Wesley, 56, as he shoveled snow from his driveway in Maplewood, New Jersey, a New York City suburb.

Wesley’s two-mile local commute by car was delayed nearly two hours by the four to six inches of snow. 

“This is not what I want to be doing,” said Wesley, a sales representative for a power equipment distributor. “I’m usually the first one into the office. And if I get there and the parking lot is not plowed, I’ll be shoveling that too.”

Nearly 1,000 U.S. flights were canceled, most at Boston Logan International and New York area airports, according to FlightAware.com.

Government offices and libraries in Boston were closed. In New Jersey, where Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm, state workers had a two-hour delay.

Commuting challenges may mount over the remainder of the work week as snows melt and then temperatures drop, icing over roadways.

“Each day is a little bit cooler,” said Chenard, noting the week’s highest temperatures for the Northeast will be in the low 30s. “You’ll get some melting during the day, especially when the sun is hitting the snow, and then at night, it’s going to be cold enough to refreeze. Any road surfaces that aren’t treated certainly could get icy at night into the morning.”

(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Scott Malone and Steve Orlofsky)