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The Latest: Drifting barges now beached or run aground

Original Publication Date March 02, 2018 - 12:26 PM

NEW YORK - The Latest on a late-winter storm's impact on New York (all times local):

10:40 p.m.

The Coast Guard says eight construction barges that came unmoored in the Hudson River as a nor'easter hit the region are beached or run aground along the river.

The barges began drifting south from the Mario Cuomo Bridge area during Friday's storm.

The Coast Guard says six of the barges have been hauled up on shore in various locations between Dodd's Ferry and Yonkers, New York. Another two barges ran aground and are partially submerged in shallow water near Palisades Park, New Jersey.

The Coast Guard says there have been no reports of injuries or water contamination.

The barges are part of a project to build a new bridge and dismantle the old Tappan Zee Bridge.

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9 p.m.

A spokeswoman for American Airlines says a hangar belonging to the airline at New York's LaGuardia Airport remains structurally sound despite damage to its roof from high winds.

Dramatic footage posted on Twitter appears to show either part of the roof or something covering the roof being blown off during Friday's severe storm.

American spokeswoman Martha Thomas says no one was injured and no planes were damaged in the incident.

Thomas says an initial assessment shows the building is structurally sound. She says the hangar will be thoroughly assessed on Saturday.

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8 p.m.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says more than 363,000 utility customers without are without power in the state as winds and snow down tree limbs and power lines.

Cuomo says tractor-trailers are banned on bridges during the severe winter storm that is expected to continue through Friday night and into Saturday.

He says truck drivers who violate the ban will be arrested and fined.

Overturned tractor-trailers on the Verrazano Bridge and the new Mario Cuomo Bridge caused major traffic delays Friday.

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6:10 p.m.

Authorities say multiple barges have broken loose in the Hudson River as a nor'easter pounds the New York metropolitan area.

The Coast Guard was alerted around 12:45 p.m. Friday that barges were adrift south of the Mario Cuomo Bridge, formerly called the Tappan Zee Bridge.

Photos tweeted by New Jersey's Palisades Interstate Parkway Police Department show one barge loaded with long pieces of metal on its own by the New Jersey shore. The department says another barge sank off Yonkers, New York.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Hunter Medley says his agency and others are working to determine how many barges went astray and resolve the problem. The Palisades Parkway police say commercial tugboats are also helping.

The barges apparently were involved in a project that's building a new bridge and dismantling the old one.

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5:30 p.m.

An 11-year-old boy has been killed by a downed tree that crashed through a house in New York's Putnam County during a fierce winter storm.

The Journal News reports that the tree fell through the house shortly after noon Friday. Firefighters and Putnam county deputies clawed through debris to reach the child, but he was pronounced dead a short time later.

The boy's name has not been released.

Winds in the area were gusting up to 60 mph at the time.

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5 p.m.

A late winter storm has grounded more than 1,500 flights at New York's three major airports.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says 693 flights had been cancelled at LaGuardia Airport as of 4 p.m. Friday. Another 468 flights were cancelled at Newark Airport and 365 at Kennedy Airport.

The authority says some flights are taking off but travellers should check the status of their flights before heading to the airports.

The elevated AirTrain service that carries passengers between terminals has been shut down at Kennedy and Newark.

Tens of thousands of residents and businesses have lost power in the storm. The utility PSEG Long Island said 36,099 customers are without power in its service area. Consolidated Edison said 57,896 customers are without power in New York City and Westchester County.

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4 p.m.

Tractor-trailers and buses are banned from New York's Mario Cuomo Bridge after three trucks overturned on the bridge because of high winds from a winter storm.

The state Thruway Authority says the vehicles will be prohibited from the bridge between Westchester and Rockland counties until further notice. The bridge was formerly called the Tappan Zee Bridge.

Consolidated Edison says its crews are working to restore service to 40,200 customers who have lost power in Friday's storm. Of those, about 28,000 are in Westchester and the rest are in New York City's outer boroughs.

Strong winds are expected to continue throughout the evening.

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3:20 p.m.

A late-winter storm is causing major disruptions at New York City's airports.

All flights headed to LaGuardia airport were being held at their departure points Friday afternoon because of high winds.

Airport officials said on Twitter that flights were departing and arriving at Kennedy Airport on a "limited basis" due to windy weather.

About a third of the flights at Kennedy were cancelled by mid-afternoon.

At Newark Airport in New Jersey strong winds forced the suspension of the elevated AirTrain service that carries passengers between terminals.

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11:46 a.m.

A major nor'easter packing wet, heavy snow has sent tree limbs crashing down, left more than 150,000 customers without power and closed schools across upstate New York.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a travel advisory for all areas north of New York City, requesting limited travel due to dangerous driving conditions.

The National Weather Service says Buffalo received 8.4 inches of snow by 7 a.m., a record for that date, and areas south of the city were under 20 inches or more. The Rochester area was closing in on a foot of snow.

Accumulation were lower in eastern parts of the state, but the heavy mix of snow and rain made travelling hazardous, especially in the high-elevation areas like the Catskill Mountains.

News from © The Associated Press, 2018
The Associated Press

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