Late-season storm shuts down Northeast
NEW YORK — A blustery late-season storm clobbered the Northeast with sleet and heavy snow on Tuesday, crippling much of the Washington-to-Boston corridor after a stretch of unusually mild winter weather that had people thinking spring was already here.
The powerful nor’easter unloaded 30-60 centimetres of snow in places, grounded more than 6,000 flights, knocked out power to nearly a quarter-million customers from Virginia northward and, by the time it reached Massachusetts, had turned into a blizzard, with winds gusting at nearly hurricane force over 110 km/h along the coast and waves crashing over the seawalls.
It was easily the biggest storm in a merciful winter that had mostly spared the Northeast, and many weren’t happy about it.
“It”s horrible," said retired gumball-machine technician Don Zimmerman, of Lemoyne, Penn., using a snowblower to clear the sidewalk along his block. “I thought winter was out of here ... It’s a real kick in the rear.”
While people mostly heeded dire warnings to stay home and off the roads, police said a 16-year-old girl was killed when she lost control of her car on a snowy road and hit a tree in Gilford, New Hampshire.
The storm closed schools in cities big and small, Amtrak suspended service and the post office halted mail delivery.
Philadelphia and New York City escaped the brunt of the snow, getting just a few inches and not the foot or more forecasters had expected before the storm switched over mostly to sleet. In New Jersey, which saw rain or just a little snow in many areas, Gov. Chris Christie called the storm an “underperformer.” But officials warned of dangerous ice.
Inland areas, meanwhile, got hit hard. Binghamton, New York, had 55 cm by midafternoon, while more than a foot fell in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Vernon, New Jersey, got at least 47 cm, and Monterey, Mass., 37, with snow still accumulating in the afternoon. Up to a foot was expected in the Boston area.
The storm came just days after the region saw temperatures climb to 15-20 C, and less than a week before the official start of spring. February, too, was remarkably warm.
“The winters seem to be upside down now. January and February are nice and then March and April seem to be more wintry than they were in the past,” said Bob Clifford, who ventured out on an early morning grocery run for his family in Altamont, near Albany, New York.
In the nation’s capital, non-essential federal employees were given the option of reporting three hours late, taking the day off or working from home.
A few days ago, workers on Washington’s National Mall were making plans to turn on the fountains.
“Obviously all that has to come to an abrupt stop until we get all the snow cleared,” said Jeff Gowen, the acting facility manager for the National Mall and Memorial Parks. The cherry blossoms, they’re right on the cusp of going into bloom here. I had a feeling this was going to happen.”