gymnastic symbolic: Seaside house destroyed as storm pummels Northeast

NBC News

A house collapsed on Plum Island, Mass. shortly before 9 a.m. Friday morning.

By Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News

New England residents hunkered down Friday as a late-season storm dumped up to a foot of snow in some areas ? with more to come.

The storm also brought high winds that were battering Nantucket, Martha?s Vineyard, and Long Island, the Weather Channel reported.

A winter storm warning remained in effect for the region through 1 p.m., with snowfall expected to lessen through the afternoon.

?We are watching a conveyor belt of wave after wave of snow coming in over the Atlantic,? Alan Dunham, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told the Associated Press. ?The morning commute will definitely be a challenge.?

The Massachusetts town of Mansfield reported 14 inches on Friday and Rockland had a foot, according to the National Weather Service. A seaside house on Plum Island, about 40 miles north of Boston, was listing at a 45-degree angle after being battered by waves, WHDH reported.

The accumulation of wet snow on trees and power lines combined with gusty winds could lead to some isolated power outages, NBC Connecticut cautioned. Hundreds of schools closed or delayed openings.

The weather meant a change of footwear for Lisa Parisella of Beverly, Mass., where there were six inches on the ground on Friday morning. ?I was thinking, March, ready to take out the sandals, and I?m taking out the boots again,? she said.

The storm has authorities along the Massachusetts coast worried as wind-lashed seas threatened flood-prone areas still recovering from last month?s blizzard. The town of Scituate, Mass. advised residents to leave low-lying zones during high tides on Thursday.

?I think that?s going to be very dangerous,? Scituate Police Chief Brian Stewart told the AP. ?We?re recommending that peoples in areas that have experienced coastal flooding to evacuate three hours before high tide.?

Thirty-mph gusts and beach erosion are the biggest concern in Sandwich, Mass., where residents boarded up their homes against the approaching storm.

?We had serious flooding this morning,? Brian Gallant, director of the town?s emergency management, told NBC affiliate WHDH on Thursday. ?We had a couple of roads that were under water. The boardwalk again is under water.?

Waves as high as 23-feet with 3-foot storm surges were expected Friday, WHDH reported.

Commuters slid into work on wet, sloshy snow in New York and New Jersey, with flurries expected to continue through noon before changing to rain, NBC New York reported.

A winter storm warning was in effect through noon in New York City and through parts of northeastern New Jersey, with 1 to 2 inches of accumulation expected in the city, the Weather Channel reported. A half a foot or or more could fall over northeast New Jersey and into the lower Hudson Valley, the National Weather Service reported.

Fifty-eight flights had been canceled for New York?s LaGuardia airport and 54 at Logan in Boston as of 9:30 a.m. Friday morning, according to Flight Aware.

The storm swept through the Midwest and up from the Mid-Atlantic earlier in the week, taking its toll in several states. A Virginia man died after his car slid off an icy road, and two North Carolina boaters remained missing offshore.

NBC News? Jason Cumming and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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