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    Is New York City Overdue for a Major Earthquake?

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    Seismologists said that severe earthquakes are relatively rare around the city and cannot be predicted. But if one were to hit, it could inflict serious damage.The earthquake that hit the Northeast on Friday morning rattled nerves but did not do much damage. Still, it left many New Yorkers wondering how afraid they should be of a bigger one hitting closer to the city.The answer? It’s hard to say.Some news reports suggest that a large earthquake is “due” in New York City because moderate ones — with a magnitude of 5 or more — typically occur every few hundred years. The last one took place in the 1700s. Friday’s earthquake, in comparison, was a magnitude 4.8.In 2008, Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory found that the risk of earthquakes in the New York City area was greater than previously believed. That is because smaller earthquakes occur regularly in New York City, like a magnitude 1.7 earthquake that was recorded in Astoria, Queens, in January.Experts caution that it is impossible to know when an earthquake will strike or how much damage it might cause. But if an earthquake much stronger than Friday’s were to hit closer to New York City, “it would be a different story,” said Kishor S. Jaiswal, a research structural engineer with the U.S. Geological Survey. Forecasts from the city suggest that such a quake could result in dozens of injuries and billions of dollars in damage.There were few reports of damage or injuries after Friday’s earthquake. Still, city officials said they were inspecting bridges, train tracks and buildings, and that people should be prepared for aftershocks for at least several days. There were 29 aftershocks as of Saturday afternoon, including one with a magnitude of 3.8, according to U.S.G.S.Earthquakes with a similar magnitude to Friday’s are “rare, but they’re not unheard-of” close to New York City, said Leslie Sonder, an associate professor of earth sciences at Dartmouth College.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Storm Brings Heavy Snow to New England and Northern New York

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      In Central Park, 3.63 inches of rain fell on Saturday. Philadelphia had 3.06 inches, making it the wettest calendar day ever recorded in March, forecasters said.A storm system on Saturday brought heavy rain to the Northeast and heavy snow to parts of New England and Northern New York in a sign that winter was not quite ready to exit.In Central Park, 3.63 inches of rain had fallen as of 5 p.m. Saturday, said David Stark, a meteorologist with the Weather Service Office in New York.Philadelphia had 3.06 inches of rain, the wettest calendar day ever recorded in March in the official observing station since 1872, according to the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly, Pa.The previous daily record for March 23 was 1.36 inches in 2005. For the month of March, the record was 2.79 inches, set on March 15, 1912, the Weather Service said.In New York City, the heavy rain was expected to taper by Saturday evening, forecasters said. A flood watch for New York City was in effect into early Saturday night, with scattered flash flooding possible.Minor flooding was likely along small rivers and streams across New Jersey, the Lower Hudson Valley and southern Connecticut into Saturday night, the Weather Service said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Storm Expected to Bring Snow to Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, Again

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      Two to four inches of snow were possible in New York City overnight Friday through early Saturday, forecasters said.A fast-moving storm system was expected to bring several inches of snow to parts of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions for the second time this week, with two to four inches predicted for New York City overnight Friday into Saturday morning and up to 10 inches in portions of West Virginia and Maryland.Dominic Ramunni, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in New York, described the system that was expected to move through as a “quick hitter.”“It’ll be in and out before folks may even wake up tomorrow morning,” Mr. Ramunni said.The greatest snowfall totals were expected across parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and southern Pennsylvania, where a winter storm warning was issued for late Friday through Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service.In parts of Maryland and West Virginia, up to 10 inches of snow were possible, with snowfall rates of up to two inches per hour at times, the Weather Service said.Austin Mansfield, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Sterling, Va., said the snow could make travel difficult at times and reduce visibility.“Anytime you have a significant accumulation like that, you certainly start to see road impacts across those areas,” he said.Philadelphia could record four to six inches of snow, and Washington could see snowfall totals ranging from two to five inches, forecasters said.In New York City, where snow from a storm on Tuesday was still melting on Friday afternoon in parts of the area, there could be snowfall totals from two to four inches, Mr. Ramunni said.The storm system is expected to bring snow to some Northeast cities for the second time this week.A storm that moved through the region on Tuesday dropped 3.2 inches in Central Park and more than eight inches of snow in parts of Maryland, according to the Weather Service.Ahead of the expected weekend snowfall, the New York City Emergency Management Department issued a citywide travel advisory, warning that slippery roadways and reduced visibility were possible late Friday through early Saturday.Temperatures overnight Friday into Saturday were expected to be lower than during Tuesday’s storm, indicating that New York City could get a more powdery snow.“We’re not expecting that really heavy wet snow that we saw with this last event,” Mr. Ramunni said. “You’re not shoveling bricks of cement, so to speak, tomorrow morning.”Snow has been something of a rarity in New York City over the past couple of years. After 701 days without meaningful accumulation, a total of 1.7 inches fell in Central Park on Jan. 15 and Jan. 16.If more than 3.2 inches are recorded in Central Park on Saturday, it would be the city’s highest snowfall in two years, Mr. Ramunni said.“As a snow lover,” he said, “my tail’s wagging.” More

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      Winter Storm Forecast: Parts of the Northeast Could Get a Foot of Snow

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      The heaviest snow is expected in parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and southern New England starting on Monday into Tuesday, forecasters said.A winter storm is expected to move through the Northeast starting on Monday and lasting into Tuesday, bringing up to a foot of snow in some areas stretching from central Pennsylvania to the Catskills and Hudson Valley in New York, forecasters said.As of Saturday, the storm was over the Southern Plains in the southwestern United States, but over the next couple of days it will work its way east and then northeast.The heaviest snow is expected from northern Pennsylvania, far northwestern New Jersey and southern New York into interior southern New England, where locally a foot or more of snow could fall, said Bill Deger, a senior meteorologist for AccuWeather.In these areas, snowfall rates could exceed an inch an hour for a time, he said.The heaviest snowfalls will most likely be north of New York City, said Frank Pereira, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center.Forecasts on Saturday called for up to a foot of snow from central Pennsylvania through the Catskills and Hudson Valley in New York and then across portions of southern New England, Connecticut and Massachusetts and through the metropolitan Boston area.The precipitation is expected to start as rain on Monday night in New York City and then turn to snow late on Tuesday morning, said David Stark, a meteorologist for the Weather Service office in New York. He said he did not expect high snow totals but added that it was too early to tell.The rain-to-snow mix can be dangerous for drivers, Mr. Deger said.“Rain falling before snow makes it very difficult for municipalities to prepare roads for the wintry weather,” he noted, “as any pretreatment can be washed away before temperatures fall below freezing and snow starts to accumulate.”Drivers should anticipate a difficult commute on Tuesday in eastern Pennsylvania through the New York City area and into the Hudson Valley and southern New England, where visibility could be reduced by locally heavy snow, Mr. Deger said.During the high tide on Tuesday in the early afternoon, “there might be pockets of minor, maybe even moderate, coastal flooding along the East Coast,” said Rob Megnia, a meteorologist for the Weather Service office in Boston. “People should be aware of that even if they’re not expecting a lot of snow.”Mr. Pereira of the Weather Prediction Center said the storm would be “fairly fast-moving.”“As we get into Tuesday evening into the overnight, the system is going to be out into the open Atlantic waters,” he said, adding that the storm should be over by Wednesday morning. More