Winter storm to hit U.S. East Coast tonight

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – The U.S. East Coast is bracing  for a winter storm that is expected to dump as much as 12  inches (30 cm) of snow on New York and Boston starting tonight, disrupting commutes and travel plans.
The storm gives New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg a chance  to rebuild his reputation tarnished by a much-criticized  response to the blizzard that paralyzed New York less than two  weeks ago.
“We didn’t do the job that New Yorkers rightly expect of us  in the last storm and we intend to make sure that that does not  happen again,” Bloomberg told a news conference on Tuesday.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm  warning, with forecasters predicting 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30  cm) of snow starting in New York and Boston late Tuesday night  and continuing through Wednesday.
The previous storm — the sixth largest in city history —  dumped 20 inches (50 cm) on New York’s Central Park over 17  hours on Dec. 26 and 27.
National Weather Service forecaster Michael Eckert said  that while this storm will not be as strong and widespread,  “for a major metropolitan area, this is still a lot of snow and  will cause some disruption.”
Continental Airlines said it has so far canceled about 100  flights, mainly from its hub at Newark Liberty International  Airport in New Jersey, for Tuesday evening. JetBlue said it has  canceled 109 flights for Tuesday night and 137 Wednesday across  the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic region.
Ed Martelle, a spokesman for American Airlines, said he  expects most flights due to land in New York, Boston and  Hartford, Connecticut, late Tuesday will be canceled. He said  he did not expect any international cancellations.
Bloomberg said the heaviest snowfall is expected just  before rush hour in New York tomorrow morning and asked  commuters not to drive if possible.
Financial markets are likely to be largely unaffected by  the storm, traders said. The last storm occurred in the  traditionally light volume holiday period.
“For the most part, we’ve become a mobile and remote-access  business,” said Joseph Greco, managing director at Meridian  Equity Partners in New York. “Investors can get in pretty  easily and feel secure trading online.”
Greco said some employees who live outside Manhattan have  volunteered to stay in a hotel near work today to avoid the  morning commute.
The New York Stock Exchange expects to be open for business  as usual tomorrow.
The storm comes a day after the New York City Council held  hearings on the city’s snow response and Bloomberg issued a  15-point action plan aimed at correcting the mistakes.
In the previous storm, 600 buses got stuck in the snow, and  ambulances were unable to get through. Entire neighborhoods  were cut off for days.
Bloomberg said today the city had 365 salt spreaders  and 1,700 plows ready to tackle the storm, with sanitation  crews on hand to work 12-hour shifts.
Snow and ice carpeted much of the U.S. Deep South on  Monday, killing at least three people in traffic accidents,  cutting off power to thousands and closing countless roads,  authorities said.