Ferocious Snow Storm Sweeps the East Coast
of The United States.
March 3, 299
NEW YORK – A ferocious storm packing freezing
rain, heavy snow and furious wind gusts paralyzed
most of the East Coast on Monday, sending dozens
of cars careening into ditches, grounding hundreds
of flights and closing school for millions of kids.
The devastating effects of the storm were seen up
and down the coast. A crash caused a 15-mile
traffic jam in North Carolina, forcing police and the
Red Cross to go car-to-car to check on stranded
drivers. The storm was blamed for 350 crashes in
New Jersey, and a Maryland official counted about
50 cars in the ditch on one stretch of highway.
By Monday, the storm had moved north into New
England, and most areas in the storm's wake
expected to see at least 8 to 12 inches of snow.
The weather contributed to four deaths on roads in
Massachusetts, Rhode Island and on Long Island.
Diane Lugo, of Yonkers, N.Y., got a ride with her
husband to avoid walking 10 minutes in the slush to
her bus stop. "Getting out of the driveway was pure
hell," Lugo said. "He got to work late. I'm obviously
late."
The South was especially hard hit, dealing with
record snowfalls, thick ice and hundreds of
thousands of power outages in a region not
accustomed to such vicious weather.
In North Carolina, Raleigh got more than 3 inches
of snow; the March snowfall for the city has
exceeded 3 inches only 11 times in the last 122
years. The Weather Service said parts of
Tennessee received the biggest snowfall since
1968.
The 15-mile traffic jam in North Carolina caused no
serious problems and authorities were able to get
traffic moving again.
Travelers were stranded everywhere, with about
950 flights canceled at the three main airports in
the New York area and nearly 300 flights canceled
in Philadelphia. Boston's Logan International
Airport had to shut down for about 40 minutes to
clear a runway, and hundreds of flights were
canceled there.
Philadelphia declared a Code Blue weather
emergency, which gives officials the authority to
bring homeless people into shelters because the
weather poses a threat of serious harm or death.
Dozens of schools across North Carolina, South
Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Maine
gave children a snow day. Schools in Philadelphia,
Boston and New York City did the same. It was the
first time in more than five years that New York City
called off classes for its 1.1 million public school
students.
Some New York parents complained that the city
waited until 5:40 a.m. to call off classes, saying they
didn't have enough notice. Mayor Michael
Bloomberg brushed off the criticism and praised the
city's storm response, which included dispatching
2,000 workers and 1,400 plows to work around the
clock to clean New York's 6,000 miles of streets.
"It's like plowing from here to Los Angeles and
back," Bloomberg said at a news conference,
standing in front of an orange snow plow at a
garage. Central Park recorded 7 inches of snow,
and more than a foot was reported on parts of
Long Island, where high winds caused 2-foot drifts
on highways in the Hamptons.
The storm offered a hint of irony in a couple of
cities. People had to brave the snow and cold to
attend the annual Philadelphia Flower Show, an
indoor exhibition that provided a fragrant, spring-
like glimpse of yellow daffodils, crimson azaleas and
white tulips. In the nation's capital, hundreds of
protesters gathered on Capitol Hill to protest a
power plant and global warming during one of the
worst storms of the year.
In Fairfax, Va., 8-year-old Sarah Conforti 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.
Her mother, Noelle Conforti, said Sarah and her 10-
year-old sister couldn't be happier about the school-
free day. "The kids are against the window, just
looking out the window like a cat," she said. "It's
hilarious."
Outside a medical center in New Rochelle, N.Y.,
Emilia Rescigna struggled to push a stroller
through the snow and slush. Asleep in the stroller
was her 1-year-old son Adam, who had a 9 a.m.
appointment with his pediatrician.
The snow began to accumulate in New Hampshire
and Massachusetts as the storm moved north, but
most residents there were taking it in stride.
"This is New England, after all," said Dave
Richardson of Salem, Mass.
___
Associated Press writers Frank Eltman on
Farmingdale, N.Y.; Jim Fitzgerald in Westchester
County; Ula Ilnytzky and Amy Westfeldt in New York
City; Russell Contreras in Boston; Ben Nuckols in
Baltimore; and Bruce Shipkowski and Samantha
Henry in Trenton, N.J., contributed to this report.
of The United States.
March 3, 299
NEW YORK – A ferocious storm packing freezing
rain, heavy snow and furious wind gusts paralyzed
most of the East Coast on Monday, sending dozens
of cars careening into ditches, grounding hundreds
of flights and closing school for millions of kids.
The devastating effects of the storm were seen up
and down the coast. A crash caused a 15-mile
traffic jam in North Carolina, forcing police and the
Red Cross to go car-to-car to check on stranded
drivers. The storm was blamed for 350 crashes in
New Jersey, and a Maryland official counted about
50 cars in the ditch on one stretch of highway.
By Monday, the storm had moved north into New
England, and most areas in the storm's wake
expected to see at least 8 to 12 inches of snow.
The weather contributed to four deaths on roads in
Massachusetts, Rhode Island and on Long Island.
Diane Lugo, of Yonkers, N.Y., got a ride with her
husband to avoid walking 10 minutes in the slush to
her bus stop. "Getting out of the driveway was pure
hell," Lugo said. "He got to work late. I'm obviously
late."
The South was especially hard hit, dealing with
record snowfalls, thick ice and hundreds of
thousands of power outages in a region not
accustomed to such vicious weather.
In North Carolina, Raleigh got more than 3 inches
of snow; the March snowfall for the city has
exceeded 3 inches only 11 times in the last 122
years. The Weather Service said parts of
Tennessee received the biggest snowfall since
1968.
The 15-mile traffic jam in North Carolina caused no
serious problems and authorities were able to get
traffic moving again.
Travelers were stranded everywhere, with about
950 flights canceled at the three main airports in
the New York area and nearly 300 flights canceled
in Philadelphia. Boston's Logan International
Airport had to shut down for about 40 minutes to
clear a runway, and hundreds of flights were
canceled there.
Philadelphia declared a Code Blue weather
emergency, which gives officials the authority to
bring homeless people into shelters because the
weather poses a threat of serious harm or death.
Dozens of schools across North Carolina, South
Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Maine
gave children a snow day. Schools in Philadelphia,
Boston and New York City did the same. It was the
first time in more than five years that New York City
called off classes for its 1.1 million public school
students.
Some New York parents complained that the city
waited until 5:40 a.m. to call off classes, saying they
didn't have enough notice. Mayor Michael
Bloomberg brushed off the criticism and praised the
city's storm response, which included dispatching
2,000 workers and 1,400 plows to work around the
clock to clean New York's 6,000 miles of streets.
"It's like plowing from here to Los Angeles and
back," Bloomberg said at a news conference,
standing in front of an orange snow plow at a
garage. Central Park recorded 7 inches of snow,
and more than a foot was reported on parts of
Long Island, where high winds caused 2-foot drifts
on highways in the Hamptons.
The storm offered a hint of irony in a couple of
cities. People had to brave the snow and cold to
attend the annual Philadelphia Flower Show, an
indoor exhibition that provided a fragrant, spring-
like glimpse of yellow daffodils, crimson azaleas and
white tulips. In the nation's capital, hundreds of
protesters gathered on Capitol Hill to protest a
power plant and global warming during one of the
worst storms of the year.
In Fairfax, Va., 8-year-old Sarah Conforti 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.
Her mother, Noelle Conforti, said Sarah and her 10-
year-old sister couldn't be happier about the school-
free day. "The kids are against the window, just
looking out the window like a cat," she said. "It's
hilarious."
Outside a medical center in New Rochelle, N.Y.,
Emilia Rescigna struggled to push a stroller
through the snow and slush. Asleep in the stroller
was her 1-year-old son Adam, who had a 9 a.m.
appointment with his pediatrician.
The snow began to accumulate in New Hampshire
and Massachusetts as the storm moved north, but
most residents there were taking it in stride.
"This is New England, after all," said Dave
Richardson of Salem, Mass.
___
Associated Press writers Frank Eltman on
Farmingdale, N.Y.; Jim Fitzgerald in Westchester
County; Ula Ilnytzky and Amy Westfeldt in New York
City; Russell Contreras in Boston; Ben Nuckols in
Baltimore; and Bruce Shipkowski and Samantha
Henry in Trenton, N.J., contributed to this report.
| All photographs taken in Guilford and Branford, Connecticut - March 2, 2009. Copyright: Colin Andrews We had about 10" average and approx 18-24" drifts. Temps all day -7C. |
| SEE THE FOLLOWING DAY: HERE |
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