MTA Prepares for Early Rush Hour Due to Storm

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority was preparing for the storm by moving some sensitive equipment out of the path of snow and by adjusting train schedules to accommodate an earlier-than-usual afternoon rush hour on Friday.

Subways were operating normally Friday morning, with routine delays not linked to the approaching storm. As the storm approaches, the MTA’s transit division will move some trains underground for storage, including on express tracks through Manhattan, which means some lines that normally run as express will operate on local tracks Friday afternoon.

The MTA will halt service on the No. 7 train in Manhattan beginning at midnight, the agency said. The line will operate as usual between Main Street and Queensboro Plaza in Queens, and as a shuttle from Queensboro Plaza to Vernon-Jackson Avenues.

Buses were rolling out of depots with chains on their tires, and monitors at headquarters were keeping track of road conditions.

More closely watched as the storm approached were the region’s commuter rail lines, including Metro-North, Long Island Railroad and NJ Transit. Those systems move hundreds of thousands of commuters over long distances each weekday, through suburban territory expecting a wallop from the snow.

All three commuter rail systems were planning to add extra train service in the afternoon to help carry an anticipated early rush hour of Manhattan office workers departing ahead of the storm.


When the storm is at its height later in the day, an MTA spokeswoman said, there is a chance of intermittent closures of some bridges in the region – standard procedure when wind and snow create whiteout conditions. Those closures, however, would not be as lengthy as the outages that were required during superstorm Sandy, when the MTA, the city and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey closed river crossings because of hurricane-force winds.

The MTA was also preparing for the need to protect drivers after the height of the storm, when refreezing and melting conditions could produce dangerous ice buildup on suspension bridge cables. If ice falls are happening, those bridges could be closed temporarily, the spokeswoman said.

The MTA prepared to cancel some trains on Metro-North Friday evening, even as it sent extra trains out of New York in advance of the storm.

The railroad was to operate on a reduced schedule from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday night, the MTA said, and would significantly curtail service between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m. Saturday. After 8 p.m., trains will run every half-hour on the New Haven and Harlem Lines out of Grand Central Terminal, and once an hour inbound toward Grand Central. On the Hudson Line, the railroad will run trains once an hour overnight.

Railroad officials said more service could be cut if the storm becomes more severe.

Amtrak announced Friday afternoon that it will not operate Acela Express service on Saturday between New York and Boston, though the express trains will continue to run south of New York.

Amtrak suspended all service between New York and Boston Friday afternoon in anticipation of snow and high winds. Southbound service on regional trains will resume from Boston at 11:40 a.m. Saturday, while northbound service will resume at 10 a.m. Saturday.

The railroad also canceled other trains throughout New England because of the storm.

NOAA Names New Director of National Weather Service

NOAA Press Release:
Louis W. Uccellini, Ph.D., will become the next assistant NOAA administrator for weather services beginning February 10 and the 16th director of NOAA's National Weather Service, which marks its 143rd anniversary this Saturday.
"Louis' leadership within the National Weather Service and his relationship with the U.S. and international weather enterprise allow him to effectively steer the agency forward," said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA Administrator.
"It's an honor to lead such a prestigious agency with the unbeatable mission of protecting lives and livelihoods," said Uccellini. "The past year had its success stories with superior outlooks, forecasts and warnings, including those for Sandy, but difficulties remain. Our eyes remain locked on the future to ensure a National Weather Service that is second to none and supports a weather-ready nation.
What makes the National Weather Service a prestigious agency with a bold future are the dedicated men and woman who work day in and day out to keep us all informed and safe. They do so in ways that are more public, such as issuing life-saving watches and warnings, and in ways that are less apparent but are vital to our society, such as supporting airline safety and marine transportation to protecting electrical infrastructure from solar storms."
"I congratulate Dr. Uccellini and look forward to continuing to collaborate with him and the National Weather Service," said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. "FEMA and the NWS in partnership together prepare communities and local officials for the impacts of weather hazards to save lives and protect property."
"Working with a spectrum of partners, including emergency management, the commercial sector, broadcasters, academia and social scientists, we can and will meet the nation's needs to overcome the very real threats from the increasing severity and frequency of weather and climate extremes," added Uccellini.
Laura K. Furgione, who served as acting director of the National Weather Service since May 2012, will return as the agency's deputy director. "Louis has always placed a priority on providing forecast tools to help field offices and national centers be successful. I'm proud to work by his side as we continue supporting our nation-wide team," said Furgione.
Since 1999, Uccellini has led the NWS' National Centers for Environmental Prediction, which in 2012 moved to a new state-of-the-art facility in College Park, Md. At NCEP, he was responsible for directing the planning, science and technology, and operational responsibilities related to NCEP's Central Operations and Environmental Modeling, as well as seven national centers, including the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., and Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo. Uccellini is also a fellow of the American Meteorological Society and just completed his term as the society's president.
Uccellini, 63, began his weather career at the Goddard Space Flight Center's Laboratory for Atmospheres as the section head for the Mesoscale Analysis and Modeling Section in 1978. In 1989, he joined the NWS as chief of the Meteorological Operations Division and then became director of the Office of Meteorology in 1994.
Uccellini received his Bachelor of Science (1971), Master (1972), and Ph.D. (1977) degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has published more than 60 journal articles and chapters in books, and is known for coauthoring the widely acclaimed two-volume book, Northeast Snowstorms.
A native of Bethpage, N.Y. on Long Island, Dr. Uccellini is a resident of Columbia, Md. He and his wife, Susan, have three children.
NOAA's mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources.

New head of National Weather Service named

Louis Uccellini will be the new director of the National Weather Service, effective Sunday.

Uccellini, 63, has been with the weather service since 1989, most recently as the director of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction in College Park, Md. He will be the 16th director of the weather service, which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

He was the president of the American Meteorological Society and the author of more than 60 journal articles and chapters in books. He literally wrote the book about blizzards as the co-author of the two-volume book Northeast Snowstorms.

Uccellini replaces acting director Laura Furgione, who served since May. She replaced Jack Hayes, who was director from 2007 until last May. Hayes retired after an internal investigation found that agency staff improperly moved money among different accounts without congressional authorization.

Furgione will return to her position as weather service deputy director.

Uccellini becomes director at a challenging time for the agency, dealing with budget issues that could hamper efforts to improve such critical needs as weather satellites and weather prediction models.

In a telephone interview Wednesday, Uccellini stressed the importance of maintaining transparency in budget issues.

He agreed with concerns within the meteorological community about the state of the top U.S. weather prediction model (the GFS), saying he will be "moving aggressively" toward its improvement.

"It's an honor to lead such a prestigious agency with the unbeatable mission of protecting lives and livelihoods," Uccellini said. "The past year had its success stories with superior outlooks, forecasts and warnings, including those for Sandy, but difficulties remain.

"Our eyes remain locked on the future to ensure a National Weather Service that is second to none and supports a weather-ready nation."