New England, Upstate New York, Bracing for Winter Storm

Parts of New England, upstate New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, and northern New Jersey were bracing Monday for a winter storm that could drop more than 12 inches (30 centimeters) of heavy, wet snow.

The National Weather Service says the storm was supposed to begin late Monday and last into Wednesday.

The storm was also expected to bring high winds, and power outages were possible. Utilities across the region say they will have crews ready to respond.

Snowfall in the western part of Massachusetts could exceed 18 inches (45 centimeters), but along the coast where the storm is expected to begin as rain, the snow totals could be 3 or 4 inches (7.5 centimeters to 10 centimeters), Bill Simpson, a spokesman for the National Weather Service in Norton, Massachusetts, said.

”I’m not quite sure of the exact track,” Simpson said. “That makes all the difference in the world.”

A winter storm warning was due to take effect Monday evening and last through Wednesday morning for parts of upstate New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey, southern sections of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont as well western Massachusetts and parts of Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Officials across the region urged residents to be prepared and listen to local weather reports.

”If you must travel, make sure your vehicle’s emergency kit is well stocked and includes a flashlight, food, water and a blanket,” Robert Buxton, the director of the New Hampshire Department of Safety’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said in a statement.

In New Hampshire, the storm will hit on Election Day for town officeholders. Nearly 20 communities postponed, while others reminded voters that they could vote by absentee ballot on Monday instead.

Similar back-to-back Election Day storms in 2017 and 2018 sparked widespread confusion about who could reschedule elections.

Lawmakers have since changed the law to allow town moderators to postpone elections if the National Weather Service issues a storm warning. For Tuesday, such warnings have been issued for at least parts of seven of the state’s 10 counties.