“However, the storm was fast and furious”, said New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo.
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Authorities cautioned against unnecessary driving, airline schedules were in disarray, and commuter trains will be delayed or canceled for many as the work week begins.
But treacherous conditions remained: Of at least 29 deaths blamed on the weather, shoveling snow and breathing carbon monoxide claimed more lives than auto crashes as people recovered from a storm that dropped snow from the Gulf Coast to New England.
At least 16 people have died as a result of the storm – six in North Carolina, three in Virginia, one in Kentucky, three in New York City, one in Maryland, one in OH and one in Washington.
The record high of 28 inches of snow in Washington was set in 1922 and the biggest recent snowfall was 17.8 inches in 2010.
Animals at the National Zoo in Washington saw just above 22 inches during the storm.
The snow also engulfed the Mid-Atlantic cities of Baltimore and Philadelphia while about 150,000 customers in North Carolina and 90,000 homes in New Jersey lost electricity. That would make the storm one of the top five storms in the city’s history.
Officials in suburban Montgomery County, Md., recorded some of the highest snow totals in the country, including 38.5 inches in North Potomac. Accumulations in parts of Virginia and West Virginia reached 40 inches. But Saturday’s total of 26.6 inches was a record for a single day (the other 0.2 inches fell Friday).
Sisak reported from Philadelphia; Contributors include Associated Press writers Ashley Thomas in Springfield, Illinois; Ben Nuckols in Burke, Virginia; Bruce Shipkowski in Toms River, New Jersey; William Mathis, Scott Mayerowitz and Jake Pearson in New York; Kristen De Groot in Philadelphia; Alex Brandon and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington; Jessica Gresko in Arlington, Virginia; and Juliet Linderman in Baltimore. High winds on Manhattan’s Upper West Side kept the snow from entirely swallowing the tiny Mini Cooper of Daniel Bardman, who nervously watched for falling icicles as he dug out.
Among the dead were a 23-year-old New Jersey woman and her 1-year-old son, who died of carbon monoxide poisoning after snow covered the tailpipe of their vehicle.
“This is very heavy snow so I ask that they please be careful as they clean up their own property today or their businesses”, he said. The weekend timing could not have been better, enabling many to enjoy a gorgeous winter day.
Thousands of people flocked to parks, tobogganing, organizing snowball fights and strapping on cross-country skis, as children delighted in a winter wonderland under glorious sunshine.
“I knew people would be cooped up in their houses and wanting to come outside”, he said as he was beaned by multiple blasts of perfectly soft but firm snow. In Pennsylvania, travelers were stuck on the Pennsylvania Turnpike for nearly 24 hours Saturday as 500 vehicles came to standstill on a seven-mile stretch. The huge backup happened after trucks couldn’t climb through the mountains toward the Allegheny tunnels in what would become 35 inches of snow.
Crews are scrambling to clear the roads before the work-week starts. Service on the Long Island Island is still suspended but the MTA said it’s working to bring back service for the Monday morning commute. Museums remained closed in Washington, and the House of Representatives postponed votes until February, citing the storm’s impact on travel. He booked a flight Monday on American Airlines, but there were no direct flights for under $1,000, “so I’m flying to Boston, then Charlotte, then home”. Baltimore-Washington International Airport said late Saturday all runways were closed as snow removal continued.
Among those whose travel was disrupted by the blizzard was Vice President Joe Biden, whose airplane made an unscheduled detour to warm and sunny Miami as he traveled from meetings in Turkey early Sunday, unable to land in snowed-under Washington. And more than 8,000 flights were canceled on Saturday and Sunday, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware.com.
Amtrak operated a reduced number of trains on all its routes, serving many people who couldn’t get around otherwise, spokesman Marc Magliari said. Some neighborhoods in northwestern Washington lay under 2 feet of snow with unplowed streets, and many roads had not yet been plowed.
While the snow has stopped, the weather warnings continue. In Maryland, State Police said Sunday that I-270 and I-70 were reopened after being closed on Saturday.
A beloved Capitol police officer joined a grim list of people suffering heart attacks while shoveling snow.
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“Normally I bicycle, but it’s a little too slippery”, he said. Her 3-year-old daughter, also in the auto, was in critical condition, The Record reported.
