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The "Historic" Blizzard Missed New York City

by Lauren Barbato

So, that "potentially historic" blizzard came and went in New York City on Monday night — or really, it just missed the city by 25 miles. New Yorkers expecting to wake up to an apocalyptic snowscape Tuesday morning instead were treated to little more than six inches of snow as New York City escaped winter storm Juno. As of 7:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, travel bans have been lifted in New York and New Jersey, with subway trains and buses expected to resume later in the morning.

According to The Weather Channel, New York's Central Park saw just 7.8 inches of snow as of Tuesday morning, while LaGuardia Airport in Queens had about 11 inches of snow. These snowfall accumulations are much, much lower than meteorologists predicted, as tri-state area residents were told on Monday to prepare for more than two feet of snow.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie declared state of emergencies on Monday, closing the area's major bridges and tunnels and banning residents from traveling on the roads and highways. Both governors lifted their respective states' travel bans just after 7 a.m. Tuesday, though they still cautioned residents about potentially dangerous roadways.

"New Jerseyans should continue to stay off the roads whenever possible ... as transportation and public safety officials continue their work to clear the roadways from the snowfall," Christie said Tuesday morning in a statement.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who told New Yorkers on Monday to prepare for "something worse than we have ever seen before," may have been feeling a bit foolish on Tuesday when he woke up to roughly half a foot of snow.

Although New York City and New Jersey were spared the projected two-to-three feet of snow and harsh winds, the rest of the tri-state area didn't get off so easily. Eastern Long Island already has seen up to 24 inches of snow, according to The Weather Channel. Long Island cane expect more snowfall throughout the day as Juno continues up north.

Meanwhile, in New England…

Juno may have been a bust in New York City, but New England is still experiencing the storm's wrath. The snowstorm slammed eastern and central Massachusetts Monday night, and the storm is expected to dump at least another foot of snow on the region throughout the day. According to the National Weather Service, Boston already saw 14.5 inches of snow by 7 a.m. Tuesday, while Worcester had 25 inches on the ground. Wind gusts were also dangerous Monday night, with Nantucket experiencing 78 mile-per-hour gusts.

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