Emergency storm news: These areas are preparing to face a historic blizzard, and residents need to evacuate urgently

About 41 million people are under blizzard warnings as forecasters predict up to 2 feet of snow for some areas, 70 mph wind gusts and dangerous whiteout conditions overnight.

Boston-area colleges plan for a day away

Boston’s plentiful institutions of higher learning are mostly telling employees and students take the day off tomorrow or work and study remotely as the blizzard is expected to aim for New England.

Boston College said it’s closed and classes are canceled. Boston University said its Charles River, Fenway and Medical campuses will be closed.

Northeastern said administrative employees should work from home and students should participate in class remotely. The stay-away advisory applies to its facilities in Boston; New York City; Burlington, Massachusetts; and Portland, Maine, the school said. “Staff whose presence on campus is essential to maintain business operations, including facilities, dining, and public safety, will be on site,” it said.

Tufts said its campuses will close “for the second time in a month,” with the shutdown already in effect at 8 o’clock tonight and extending through the end of tomorrow.

Emerson College said its Boston campus will be closed for classes, virtual meetings, rehearsals and campus activities tomorrow. “Staff and faculty are not expected to work, with the exception of essential employees,” it said.

Harvard said it will “adjust operations,” with nonessential employees told to work remotely where possible.

Bus service in southeastern Pennsylvania suspended

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), which serves Philadelphia and surrounding counties, has suspended all bus service tonight.

System operators did not say when bus service might resume. Regional rail, including SEPTA’s L, B and M lines, will continue running, the agency said in a statement.

SEPTA serves Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties. The system described the coming blizzard as “the second storm of the century this season.”

Damaging winds intensify along the Jersey Shore

Winds were gusting above 30 mph tonight in Long Branch, N.J. In Long Branch and other areas along the Jersey Shore, winds of 50 to 70 mph and snowfall rates of 2 to 4 inches per hour are expected to create hazardous travel conditions overnight. Mark Scaglione

Long Branch, New Jersey, is expected to be one of the areas hit hardest by the storm, with wind gusts topping 30 mph and several inches of snow having already fallen.

The storm is expected to intensify overnight, producing wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph and snowfall rates of 2 to 4 inches per hour in coastal areas like Long Branch. The combination will create hazardous travel conditions, with visibility dropping below a quarter of a mile at times.

Crews are already using plows and heavy equipment to clear roads and sidewalks along the beachfront.

The next high tide cycle occurs after midnight in Long Branch, and it is likely to be the most significant period, coinciding with the strongest winds. The National Weather Service has issued a coastal flood warning for the area, which remains in effect until 5 a.m. tomorrow.

Federal employees in Washington given 2-hour grace period to start work tomorrow

Federal employees in the Washington, D.C., area will have two extra hours to start their workdays tomorrow.

“Employees should plan to arrive for work no more than 2 hours later than they would normally be expected to arrive,” the Office of Personnel Management said in a notice today.

The grace period does not apply to “emergency employees,” it said. Options for unscheduled leave or completing the workday remotely are also being made available to employees, the office said.

Blizzard starts to knock out power in New Jersey and Virginia

The storm is starting to put utility customers in the dark tonight in New Jersey and Virginia.

Utility tracker PowerOutage.us says more than 20,000 customers are without power in New Jersey.

Hudson County, which abuts New York City, reports more than 2,500 utility customers are without power tonight. Jersey City said it’s aware of an outage in the Heights, and utility PSE&G is on the case.

The utility said in a statement that it has 3,000 personnel mobilized to respond to outages and that it has restored power to an estimated 4,600 customers since this morning.

The city of Hoboken asked residents to be ready in case power is lost. “Power outages are very possible due to heavy snow,” it said on X. “Make sure all your devices are charged.”

Nearly 13,000 utility customers in Virginia are without power, as well, PowerOutage.us. reports.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger said on X that snow is accumulating across the state. “Please stay off the roads as much as possible during the storm,” she said.

Maryland governor declares state of emergecy

Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency for Maryland ahead of expected impacts from the incoming blizzard, his office said in a statement.

The state has activated its Emergency Operations Center, the Maryland Joint Information Center and the State Highway Administration Emergency Operations Center, the governor’s office said. State offices are otherwise closed tomorrow, it said.

“The safety of Marylanders comes first and this storm has the potential to produce life-threatening conditions across large parts of the state,” Moore said in a statement. “Stay off the roads, check on your neighbors, and listen to local authorities. Please be vigilant and take this storm seriously to protect yourself and your loved ones.”

State police will have 70 additional troopers on duty tomorrow, and utilities across the state are pre-staging repair crews in anticipation of storm-related damage, the governor’s office said.

Philadelphia declares disaster emergency

Anticipating dire effects tomorrow, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker has declared a disaster emergency.

Parker said in a statement that the declaration “will allow Philadelphia to more effectively fight this large and dangerous storm as it rolls in.”

Her office said it also frees up resources to respond to snow effects in the city. An estimated 1,000 personnel and over 800 pieces of equipment, including snowplows, salt spreaders and excavators, will be deployed, the mayor’s office said.

Matthew Hatcher / Getty Images

The city joins other governments in declaring states of emergency in response to the incoming blizzard.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered 150 members of the National Guard to be ready to respond to Philadelphia and northeastern Pennsylvania and also declared an emergency that frees up funding for storm response efforts.