Double Whammy: 2nd Nor'easter Dumps More Than 20″ of Snow on Parts of Tri-State, Leaves More than 400K in the Dark

For the second time in less than a week, a nor'easter wreaked havoc on the tri-state -- this time dumping more than two feet of snow on parts of the area, grounding more than 1,900 flights, stranding commuters on the roads and rails and bringing yet another round of damage and power outages to towns still recovering from the previous storm. 

More than 464,000 customers from across the tri-state were without power Wednesday night as the storm rolled through the region with heavy, wet snow falling amid flashes of lightning -- also known as "thundersnow" -- and increasingly powerful winds. It comes after a truly hellacious commute home for some of the workers who dared venture into the city for work earlier in the day only to find many of the region's roadways at a near-standstill and the normally myriad mass transit options halted. 

As of Wednesday evening, the suburbs to the north and west of New York City saw the greatest snowfall totals, with Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, seeing the most snow. Twenty-four inches of powder fell there, according to the National Weather Service; Several other towns in northern New Jersey and the Hudson Valley also saw more than 20 inches of snow. In the five boroughs, meanwhile, the snowfall made much less of an impact. Central Park only recorded 2.5 inches, while Little Neck, Queens, saw the city's highest total with 4.7 inches. 

And just as with last week's nor'easter, mass transit was a mess throughout the evening commute. Service on all three Metro-North lines that depart from Grand Central Terminal was suspended around 7:45 p.m., and the commuter rail told at least one Twitter user "getting a hotel would be a safe bet at this point."

Multiple NJ Transit lines and Long Island Rail Road branches also reported suspensions and delays throughout the evening to the weather, and NJ Transit buses stopped running in the afternoon.

The roadways, likewise, were inundated by the snow. And on New Jersey's Interstate 78, a pair of disabled tractor trailers caused massive delays in both directions. 

More than 1,900 flights were canceled, and Newark Airport was closed for hours, though it reopened by late afternoon. Check the latest transit info here. 

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Meanwhile, in New Jersey, 911 calls were stacking up quickly as wires and trees started toppling by the late afternoon. The fire chief in Cranford said crews were doing their best to get to each call but things were "really going downhill now." 

No fatalities had been reported from the storm, but several people had weather-related injuries from Wednesday's weather. 

Ten people were taken to hospitals with symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning after running a generator inside a home in North White Plains, New York, police said. All were expected to survive.

A teacher was struck by lightning while holding an umbrella on bus duty outside a school in Manchester Township, New Jersey, police said. The woman felt a tingling sensation but didn't lose consciousness. She was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

And in Westport, Connecticut, a person was taken to the hospital after being hit by a falling tree branch. Another woman in Suffern, New York, was taken to the hospital with serious injuries after a tree fell in her yard. 

New York City public schools were open Wednesday; officials reported 69 percent attendance, compared to 91 percent on Tuesday. City schools will also be open Thursday.

More than 250 other schools across the tri-state were closed. More than 200 districts will be closed or delayed on Thursday, as well. Check school closings here.

All Winter storm warnings expired early Thursday.

Though snowfall began to slow down into the evening, winds picked up quite a bit as the storm intensified, generating sustained speeds between 30 to 40 mph, though the gusts were not expected to be as vicious as the ones that tore down power lines and sent trampolines flying through the streets during last week's nor'easter. 

The skies will clear up Thursday and Friday, leading to a high of 46. The weekend and following workweek both look to be seasonable. 

Last Friday's nor'easter left the tri-state reeling for days, halting transit and leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power. The Garden State bore a significant number of power outages from last week's storm, and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared a statewide state of emergency for Wednesday; state offices were closed. There will be a two-hour delayed opening for those offices on Thursday, Murphy said. 

New York state offices were also closed Wednesday.

New York saw 280,000 lose power, primarily upstate and in Westchester and Putnam counties. A frustrated Westchester County executive, George Lattimer, called on Con Edison and NYSEG chiefs to resign, saying his communities are outraged, even the people who have their power back. Gov. Cuomo said he had directed the New York State Department of Public Service to conduct a full review of the power failures.