Winter storm Juno
Students lay out in their bathing suits on the campus of Harvard University on January 27, 2015 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Boston, and much of the Northeast, is being hit with snow from Winter Storm Juno. Getty Images

Forecasts were downgraded and transport ban was lifted in New York City as residents awoke to a less severe blizzard than was predicted causing many to claim officials overreacted to Juno storm's threat.

Residents across Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey got far less snow on Tuesday (27 January) than was predicted with NYC receiving about 8 inches, Philadelphia an inch and New Jersey up to 8 inches.

My deepest apologies to many key decision makers and so many members of the general public. You made a lot of tough decisions expecting us to get it right, and we didn't.
- Gary Szatkowski, meteorologist-in-charge, National Weather Service, New Jersey

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio defended the storm warnings and said: "This is a better-safe-than-sorry scenario. We did what was necessary to keep everyone safe."

Emergency was declared on Monday (26 January) across many cities in northeast US as meteorologists forecasted up to 90cm (36in) of snow and warned that a "potentially historic blizzard" is on its way.

Only emergency vehicles, like police cars and snow ploughs, were permitted on the roads in NYC past 11pm local time on Monday (26 January).

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also took to the defense of the travel bans and rail closures saying weather is generally unpredictable.

"You plan the best you can and you lead toward safety. It may actually have brought us back to full operating capacity sooner but I do not criticize weather forecasters. I learn," said Cuomo.

Meanwhile Gary Szatkowski, the meteorologist-in-charge at the National Weather Service in Mt. Holly, New Jersey, took to Twitter to apologize to residents who were affected by the severe weather warnings.

My deepest apologies to many key decision makers and so many members of the general public.

— Gary Szatkowski (@GarySzatkowski) January 27, 2015

You made a lot of tough decisions expecting us to get it right, and we didn't. Once again, I'm sorry.

— Gary Szatkowski (@GarySzatkowski) January 27, 2015

Another meteorologist was overheard saying: "We didn't get the weather we hoped for?"

Juno
Snow sits on top of buildings in Boerum Hill after winter storm Juno moved through the Brooklyn borough of New York, US on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015. The storm blowing through the US northeast won't drop as much snow as forecasters anticipated, sparing residents and clean-up crews the potentially life-threatening blizzard that some predicted. Getty Images
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