Nine die as snowstorm downs planes, closes schools in US
NEW YORK – At least nine people were killed by blizzards which battered the eastern half of the US yesterday.
The storm caused more than 1 000 US flight delays and cancellations, paralyzing road travel and closing schools and government offices.
The first major winter storm of 2014 brought bone-chilling temperatures and high winds from the lower Mississippi Valley to the Atlantic coast, with nearly 60 cm of snow falling in some areas of Massachusetts.
Much of the US northeast saw heavy snowfall and plummeting temperatures late on Thursday and early yesterday morning, said Jared Guyer, a meteorologist with the US National Weather Service.
The weather service said the mass of Arctic air would drop temperatures to levels 20°C to 30°C below normal, with record lows possible yesterday.
It was still snowing in some places such as Boston, “but we are probably past the peak in terms of intensity at this point,” Guyer said, adding that the bitter cold and snow-scattering winds showed no signs of letting up.
Snowfall reports varied widely, with Washington receiving more than 5cm, Baltimore some 8 to 15cm, Philadelphia roughly 13cm, Hartford 15 to 25cm and Boston 36cm.
Architect Zander Fortie from Boston’s Roslindale neighbourhood said: “If it’s going to be cold, it might as well snow.”
Residents grappled yesterday with road and school closures throughout the region.
“Severe weather conditions” led officials to close New York City public schools yesterday morning. Schools were also closed in Hoboken and Jersey City, in New Jersey and in Boston and Providence Massachusetts.
The storm also posed the first major challenge to Bill de Blasio, the newly-elected mayor of New York, with the city expecting to see up to 20cm of snow.
More than 1 400 US flights were canceled and more than 340 were delayed early yesterday, according to flightaware.com.
New York’s three major airports prepared hundreds of cots to accommodate stranded travellers.