Fast-moving snowstorm hits Northeast, while wildfires feared in West

While heavy snow and saturating rain rake across the east coast, residents in southern California fear Santa Ana Winds combined with low relative humidity levels may produce a few large wildfires. 

Conditions are ripe for rapid wildfire development. On Friday, the National Weather service in Los Angeles, California issued a red flag warning from 6 am Saturday until 6pm Sunday. 

Red Flag warnings are generally issued when gusty winds race across dry terrain in areas where there is low relative humidity present. These warnings are in effect across coastal and valley areas of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.

Late Saturday afternoon moderate to locally strong Santa Ana Winds will develop across the mountains. These winds will channel through the mountainous terrain down to the valleys Saturday night.

Winds will peak between 45 and 55 miles per hour, with isolated gusts over 60 miles per hour. With humidity levels around 15 percent or less and drier air sweeping into the coast and central valleys, rapid wildfire development is possible. 

Across the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Northeast residents can expect a mixture of rain, snow and ice. Travel along I-70, I-80, I-90 and I-95  will be tricky given rapid snowfall is expected Saturday afternoon and evening. From Illinois to Pennsylvania and New York up to six inches may accumulate, with six to eight inches expected locally. As the storm heads north and east through the night higher amounts of up to one foot of snow can be expected across New England.

Utilities braced for power outages, airports prepared for delays and local officials readied for slick roads while shoppers headed out to stores to tackle gift lists during a shorter-than-normal holiday shopping season.

Caroline Pretyman, a spokeswoman for Northeast Utilities, which serves electric and gas customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, said extra crews would be available beginning overnight Saturday to respond to outages.

Hours before kickoff Saturday at the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia, accountant Kathy Porter hovered under layers of clothing in the stands, trying to keep warm amid low temperatures she doesn't get much of back home in Charlotte, N.C.

"We're just hoping for snow and not rain — I think we can handle the snow," Porter said. "I think we'll be OK. A little frozen but OK."

Airlines have canceled about 940 flights because of the storm, mostly in the Northeast and Midwest. Almost 350 flights into and out of Newark, N.J., have been canceled, and 172 at Chicago's O'Hare airport have been called off. ExpressJet and United have canceled the most flights so far.

"It's a pretty bad day for Newark," said Mark Duell, a spokesman for FlightAware, a website that tracks commercial airlines. About 40 percent of Newark's 900 flights have been cut, he said. If the weather gets much worse, American Airlines and Delta may be forced to cancel more flights in New York and Chicago, Duell said. Chicago was forecast to get 3 to 6 inches of snow by late Saturday afternoon, while several towns in central Illinois had already received 8 inches.

But some areas, including resorts and ski towns in Northern New England, welcomed the snow and were eager to see the winter season get started.

"We have been watching (the forecast) since people first started talking about it on Monday or Tuesday," said Ethan Austin, spokesman for the Sugarloaf Ski Resort in Carrabassett Valley, Maine. "Right now it's setting up pretty well for us, so we're pretty psyched."

Not so for retailers, facing the prospect of a snow-dampened shopping weekend less than two weeks before Christmas.

Kathy Grannis, a spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation, said consumers likely will shop online. And the weekend before Christmas gives retailers and shoppers another opportunity after this weekend.

"If a big storm hits around the 21st, 22nd, it will be a completely different story," Grannis said.

New York City's Office of Emergency Management asked drivers to stay off the roads and, if they do drive, they should go slowly and stick to major streets or highways.

Numerous accidents have been reported as well. If you must travel tonight, give yourself plenty of time as roads will be icy and hard to navigate with temperatures plummeting below freezing.

WithThe Associated Press