|
Northeast pounded by snowy late-winter storm
2009-03-02
NEW YORK - A massive late winter snowstorm pummeled the Northeast on Monday, grounding hundreds of flights, causing spinouts on highways, delaying trains and buses and closing school for over a million children from South Carolina to Maine. Muzi.com News 10088708-1 (muzi.com)The same storm hammered the Southeast on Sunday as it made its way north, blanketing Civil War statues and canceling hundreds of church services around the region. Muzi.com News 10088708-2 (muzi.com) By Monday, the storm was dumping snow on Maine, and most areas in the storm's wake expected to see at least 8 to 12 inches of accumulation. Muzi.com News 10088708-3 (muzi.com) The blizzard-like snow -- together with sleet, freezing rain and wind gusts of up to 30 mph -- contributed to four deaths on roads in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and on New York's Long Island. Muzi.com News 10088708-4 (muzi.com) An accident caused a 15-mile-long traffic jam in North Carolina, where as much as a foot of snow fell, and prompted police and rescuers to go car-to-car Monday to check on the stranded motorists. Muzi.com News 10088708-5 (muzi.com) The storm was blamed for 350 crashes in New Jersey between Sunday night and Monday morning, state police Sgt. Stephen Jones said. Most were spinouts and cars hitting guardrails, he said. Muzi.com News 10088708-6 (muzi.com) On New York's Long Island, high winds caused 2-foot snow drifts on highways in the town of Southampton. Muzi.com News 10088708-7 (muzi.com) In New York City, about 7 inches of snow was recorded at Central Park by Monday morning. Muzi.com News 10088708-8 (muzi.com) New Yorkers expressed characteristic resilience, struggling to get to work and appointments, and patching together child care arrangements. Muzi.com News 10088708-9 (muzi.com) Diane Lugo, 29, of Yonkers, had to leave her two children with her mother-in-law rather than drive them to day care. She got a ride with her husband to avoid trudging 10 minutes in the slush to her bus stop. Muzi.com News 10088708-10 (muzi.com) "Getting out of the driveway was pure hell," Lugo said in Manhattan, where she works as a college admissions coordinator. Muzi.com News 10088708-11 (muzi.com) Outside the Sound Shore Medical Center in New Rochelle, N.Y., Emilia Rescigna struggled to push a stroller through the snow and slush. In the stroller, asleep under a plastic tent, was her 1-year-old son Adam, who had a 9 a.m. appointment with his pediatrician. Muzi.com News 10088708-12 (muzi.com) "I called the doctor's office last night and this morning, to see if the appointment was still on, but no one was in," said Rescigna, a Bronx resident. "After all this they better not tell me I have to come back." Muzi.com News 10088708-13 (muzi.com) At the three major airports serving New York City, more than 900 flights were canceled -- a majority of all flights at Kennedy, Newark and LaGuardia, according to the Port Authority. Most flights in and out of Boston's Logan International Airport were scrubbed, and the airport shut down for about 40 minutes to clear a runway. Philadelphia International Airport spokeswoman Phyllis VanIstendahl said about 44 people were stranded there overnight. Muzi.com News 10088708-14 (muzi.com) Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport remained open Monday, although a number of flights were canceled or delayed. Spokesman Jonathan Dean didn't have numbers on cancellations. Muzi.com News 10088708-15 (muzi.com) In downtown Boston, pedestrians negotiated slushy sidewalks and streets ankle-deep in snow as cars struggled past. Muzi.com News 10088708-16 (muzi.com) Anderson Francois, 27, of Boston, was waiting for a bus and said he prepared for the snow by doubling up on socks and wearing pajama pants under his jeans. Muzi.com News 10088708-17 (muzi.com) "You've still got to go where you got to go," said Francois. "I'm always ready for stuff like this." Muzi.com News 10088708-18 (muzi.com) But Dave Richardson, 30, of Salem, didn't think the storm was such a big deal. Muzi.com News 10088708-19 (muzi.com) "This is New England, after all." Muzi.com News 10088708-20 (muzi.com) More than 10 inches of snow was on the ground in southern New Jersey by 7 a.m. Monday, while South Carolina was dealing with 8 inches. Delaware had up to 9 inches by late Monday morning. Muzi.com News 10088708-21 (muzi.com) Greyhound and Peter Pan bus lines canceled trips affecting travelers in and out of New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. Muzi.com News 10088708-22 (muzi.com) Schools from North Carolina to Maine gave children a snow day. Public schools in Philadelphia and Boston did the same. In New York City, 1.1 million public school students got a snow day; the last time that happened was Jan. 28, 2004. Muzi.com News 10088708-23 (muzi.com) In Fairfax, Va., Sarah Conforti, 8, said Monday's day off was just what she'd been hoping for, and planned to "make a snowman or play in the snow with my friends," she said. Muzi.com News 10088708-24 (muzi.com) Her mother, Noelle Conforti, said Sarah and her 10-year-old sister couldn't be happier about the school-free day. Muzi.com News 10088708-25 (muzi.com) "The kids are against the window, just looking out the window like a cat," she said. "It's hilarious." Muzi.com News 10088708-26 (muzi.com) Commuter trains in Boston and New York had some delays during the morning rush. Transportation officials in the Philadelphia area said the rush hour wasn't bad considering the slippery conditions. Muzi.com News 10088708-27 (muzi.com) Amy Ledger, 30, was among many who braved the snow to attend the annual Philadelphia Flower Show, an indoor exhibition that provided a fragrant, spring-like respite from the blustery snow and wind. Muzi.com News 10088708-28 (muzi.com) Ledger and two friends took the train in from Lancaster, where they said there was only about an inch of snow on the ground early Monday morning. It got progressively snowier on the hour-long ride east. Muzi.com News 10088708-29 (muzi.com) "At one point, we couldn't even see out the train window," said Ledger, of Bethlehem. "It was really coming down." Muzi.com News 10088708-30 (muzi.com) Once at the show, winter seemed to melt away as the trio wandered past yellow daffodils, crimson azaleas and white tulips. Muzi.com News 10088708-31 (muzi.com) "I'm ready for spring," said Mindy Schlott, 29, of Ephrata, Pa. Muzi.com News 10088708-32 (muzi.com) In New Hampshire, where snow was falling at up to an inch per hour, Transportation Department spokesman Bill Boynton said plow crews were having trouble keeping up. Muzi.com News 10088708-33 (muzi.com) In Maryland, strong winds were complicating cleanup efforts as gusts were blowing just-plowed snow right back onto roads, said Lora Rakowski, a spokeswoman with the State Highway Administration. Muzi.com News 10088708-34 (muzi.com) In Virginia, about 120,000 customers were without electricity, including tens of thousands in the Richmond metropolitan area. In North Carolina, more than 100,000 customers were without power early Monday. In South Carolina, there were nearly 80,000 outages. Muzi.com News 10088708-35 (muzi.com) Thousands more were without power in southern Maryland, the Washington, D.C.-area, and central Jersey. Muzi.com News 10088708-36 (muzi.com) "I thought it was over," New Yorker Clarissa Arroyo said of the winter weather. "But it's not." Muzi.com News 10088708-37 (muzi.com) ___ Muzi.com News 10088708-38 (muzi.com) Associated Press writers Frank Eltman on Long Island, N.Y.; Jim Fitzgerald in Westchester County; Ula Ilnytzky, Tom McElroy and Amy Westfeldt in New York City; Daniel Yee and Christina Almeida in Atlanta; Rodrique Ngowi in Boston; Ben Nuckols in Baltimore; Bruce Shipkowski and Samantha Henry in Trenton, N.J.; Kathy Matheson in Philadelphia; Kamala Lane in Washingtonand correspondant Matt Small in Washington contributed to this report. Muzi.com News 10088708-39 (muzi.com)
|  | | | Profile |
News483 | Gallery | Links | |
| |
|
|
| 
