Damages from nor'easter may exceed $1B in insured losses; new storm approaching

“Travel will be very difficult to impossible, including during the evening commute on Wednesday, ” the National Weather Service said in New York's storm warning. “Be prepared for significant reductions in visibility at times.”

Airline disruptions were already beginning to mount Tuesday afternoon, with 548 flights canceled around the U.S. for Wednesday, according to FlightAware, an airline tracking service. Most are scheduled to fly in or out of airports in New York, Newark and Boston.

The weather service's winter storm warning runs from 10 p.m. Tuesday to 4 a.m. Thursday in New York. In Boston it runs from 7 a.m. Wednesday to 1 p.m. Thursday.

Insured losses may exceed $1B

Exceptionally high tides and power outages still linger throughout the Northeast from last week's storm, which at its peak grounded thousands of flights, halted Amtrak rail services and left more than 2 million customers in the dark from Ohio to Maine. Damages from the storm may exceed more than $1 billion in insured losses, according to Jonathan Adams and Derek Han, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts.

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The impending storm won't be as potent in terms of destructive winds and waves, but it will probably mean more snow for people living along the coast. That is likely to exacerbate power outages and delay flights.

More than 48,000 customers are still without power across the Northeast, according to utility and state websites. There are about 25,000 in the Hudson Valley and Albany, which are likely in the path of the worst of the storm, Carolan said. Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency in Westchester, Putnam, Sullivan and Dutchess counties after last week's storm.

Late-season storms can actually do more damage to power lines than storms that hit in the dead of winter, according to Shunondo Basu, meteorologist and natural gas analyst for Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The warmer air is able to hold more moisture, which brings a heavier, wetter snow — and sleet — than the fluffy flakes that tend to fall in January.

Interstate 95

Philadelphia could get 5 inches, while cities and towns to the northwest may get double that, the weather service said. In New York, White Plains and points north could get as more than a foot. Those heavier amounts will extend into Connecticut, potentially burying Danbury, Waterbury and Meriden.

Boston's southern suburbs may catch a break because very little snow is expected to fall near the coast. A slight wobble in the storm's track could drastically raise or lower the total snowfall.

Related: Keys to successful property insurance recoveries following natural disasters

“For now, the rain-snow line is along 95, and it will continue to go back and forth,” Carolan said, referring to the interstate running parallel to the Atlantic coast. “Whoever is just west of the line is going to get heavy, wet snow and they are most vulnerable to power outages.”

Coastal residents have a few advantages this time around, said Ronald Busciolano, a supervisory hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. This storm is moving faster than the previous one, and the astronomical tides aren't as high. When last week's nor'easter hit, the sun, Earth and moon were all aligned to send water surging.

“The expected surge is not going to be as high and not as long as this past storm,” Busciolano said. “Snow may be the main weather issue.”