Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said her city had experienced a “historic snow event”.
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The US capital struggled to plow and shovel its way back to life Monday after a blizzard smothered the East Coast, with mountains of snow lining streets, and schools and the federal government shut down. Judy Tenenbaum refused, and walked a dozen blocks to reach a stop where at least some snow was cleared. “We’re going to make a mountain”, she said.
At least 29 deaths were blamed on the weather, first in auto crashes, and then while shovelling snow or breathing carbon monoxide.
The storm dropped snow from the Gulf Coast to New England. Bruce Springsteen canceled Sunday’s scheduled show at Madison Square Garden.
NEW YORK-Nearly 1,510 flights remain delayed or cancelled in the aftermath of a massive blizzard that slammed into the eastern USA, wreaking havoc on travel in the nation’s busiest cities.
In Passaic, New Jersey, a 23-year-old and her year-old son died of carbon monoxide poisoning during the storm, while the family’s three-year-old daughter was hospitalized in critical condition.
Airlines were also feeling the impact of the storm, with over 10 100 flights cancelled between Friday and yesterday, according to airline tracker Flight Aware.
Besides the challenge of quickly clearing snow and ice from their facilities and equipment, transit systems operators had to figure out how to get snowbound employees to work.
I missed school.Amtrak operated a reduced number of trains, spokesman Marc Magliari said. Service has been restored on all subway lines in New York City and most regional rails in Philadelphia, while the Washington metro is offering limited service on trains and buses.
As a sign of how much digging out remains to be done around the U.S. capital, public schools will be closed Monday and Tuesday in suburban Montgomery County, Maryland, which recorded some of the highest snow totals, including 97.8cm in North Potomac. The weekend timing could not have been better, enabling many to enjoy a gorgeous winter day.
New York’s Central Park official reading of 26.8 inches was the second deepest recorded since 1869. The storm is forecast to head north toward New York City later in the day.
Limited flight operations resumed Monday from Washington’s Reagan National and Dulles International airports on Monday, a day after officials battled in NY to get some aircraft off the ground.
Animals at the National Zoo in Washington saw just above 22 inches during the storm.
The Zoo remained closed through Monday but a video of its giant panda Tian Tian making snow angels got more than 48 million views. Joining the fun, Jeffrey Perez, of Millersville, Md., climbed into a panda suit and rolled around in the snow, snagging more than half a million views of his own. “I think in winter you’re too hunkered down in your house and everybody wants to go out and explore and kind of get the kid in them out”. “They were really excited that it finally snowed here and wanted to play in it”.
Farther south in North Wildwood, the high tide was much higher than anticipated and caught numerous town’s 5,000 year-round residents off-guard – with flooding levels that actually exceeded those during Hurricane Sandy, said Patrick Rosenello, the city’s mayor.
Seventeen-year-old Alex Cruz, helping a neighbor shovel snow Saturday in Silver Spring, Maryland, couldn’t help but notice the emptiness.
In the Washington suburb of Arlington, Virginia, on Monday the main thoroughfare leading into Washington was clear but virtually empty as secondary roads were clogged by slush and partly blocked by huge mounds of snow created by plowing.
David Perrotto, 56, met a similar fate in Muhlenberg Township, Pennslvania, Saturday night after a passing snowplow buried him inside his auto as he was trying to dig it out. The Illinois Democrat said he’s been through this before.
In Kentucky, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, drivers were marooned for hours on snow-choked highways. That one killed some of the cows a farmer had herded inside. They’ve got their service back. The National Weather Service increased the expected totals at 11 a.m. on Saturday. “New Yorkers don’t like to be inconvenienced…”
“I knew people would be cooped up in their houses and wanting to come outside”, said Brazell.
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Nuckols reported from Burke, Virginia.
