Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Northern freeze
Storm leaves a foot of snow from New York to Boston.
BOSTON — The biggest storm to hit the Northeast this winter dumped a foot or more of snow along the New York-to-Boston corridor Thursday, turning roads treacherous, grounding flights and giving millions of people weather whiplash a day after temperatures soared into the 50s and 60s.
Scores of accidents were reported as drivers confronted windblown snow and slick highways, with southbound Interstate 95 at the Rhode Island-Connecticut line closed in the afternoon because several tractor-trailers got stuck on an incline.
More than 3,500 flights were canceled across the region, and all planes bound for New York’s Kennedy Airport were ordered held on the ground for hours while crews cleared the runways.
Schools closed in New York City, Philadelphia and Boston, and government offices told non-essential workers to stay home.
A doorman in New York City died after falling down a set of stairs and crashing through a plate-glass window while shoveling snow, police said.
The National Weather Service said up to 11 inches fell in New York’s Hudson Valley by noon, while areas around New York City and Long Island received 6 to 9 inches. West Hartford, Conn., had more than 13 inches, and Ludlow, Mass., had 16 1⁄2.
Farther north, Manchester, N.H., had received at least 11 inches by midafternoon and Berwick, Maine, about a foot.
The storm came midway through a largely snow-free winter in the Northeast and a day after much of the region enjoyed a brief taste of spring, with recordbreaking highs in some places. Temperatures then crashed more than 30 degrees as the storm rolled in.