Volunteers in northeastern U.S.-based Jewish emergency rescue organizations including Hatzala and Haverim held emergency meetings at week's end, in anticipation of the approaching mega-blizzard Nemo.
The groups supplied rescue equipment to the branches in places where the storm was due to strike, to best prepare them for any emergency.
On Friday, Sabbath eve, Hatzala volunteers rescued New York City Jewish residents who were stranded outside the city by mounting snow.
On many streets, Shabbat prayer minyans were held in private homes, because synagogues could not be reached.
The rescue organizations asked residents with elderly relatives or neighbors to make sure that they have the necessary means for heating their homes.
While the storm presents many dangers, it is also a source of awe for many. When viewing splendid natural phenomena, observant Jews utter the blessing "oseh maaseh beresheet," – "Blessed are You, Hashem our G-d, who carries out the act of creation." These time-lapse videos of the storm offer some glimpses of its intensity.
NOAA's GOES-13 satellite snapped imagery of the two low pressure systems that joined forces to slam the Northeast United States with heavy winds and snow. Observations were made between Feb. 7 and Feb. 9, 2013.
This footage was shot in Palmer, Mass.:
Geoff Fox filmed this footage in Connecticut (Courtesy: geofffox.com):
Nemo in Boston, set to music:
This time lapse video of the snowstorm, starting from about 1:00 pm on Friday through Saturday morning, was taken in Somerville, MA.
A time lapse video shot in a back yard in Farmington, Connecticut:
A time-lapse camera in the Wall Street Journal's offices in Manhattan captured the scene on Sixth Avenue, looking north toward Radio City Music Hall.