Posted on 12/06/2003 7:29:58 AM PST by BigWaveBetty
People walk down a snow covered sidewalk on New York's Fifth Avenue, December 5, 2003. The New York area is expected to get up to eight inches of snow in the next two days. REUTERS/Jeff Christensen
Northeast this season was threatening near whiteout conditions from New Jersey to Maine on Saturday after burying Pittsburgh under 7 inches of snow, delaying flights from Boston to Washington, D.C., and creating hazardous driving conditions blamed for at least five deaths.
As much as 2 feet of snow was forecast for Massachusetts by the end of the weekend, and northern Pennsylvania was bracing for as much as 20 inches.
"We're hoping the forecasters are wrong, but if they're not, we're trusting that people will be staying home with their families and off the road so we can get our job done," said Anna Farneski, spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
Drivers on Friday braved slick highways, and commuters shuffled along frozen sidewalks as they tried to make their way home through the wind and snow. In New York City, traffic slowed to a crawl.
"The salt is here, the trucks are ready, the chains are on, and New York is prepared for the assault," New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Friday.
The storm was blamed for at least five traffic deaths, including the 74-year-old driver of a van that collided with a school bus in Pennsylvania. None of the three dozen children on the bus was hurt. Two people were killed in Virginia and two in New Jersey.
More than 80 fender-benders were reported on the New Jersey Turnpike, where the speed limit was reduced from 65 mph to 35 mph because of dangerous conditions.
The storm brought several inches of snow to Virginia and Maryland on Friday, and road crews were preparing for a second onslaught with flurries overnight expected to turn to heavy snow. Four to 8 inches was expected in the Baltimore region.
Dave Martin, a National Weather Service (news - web sites) Meteorologist in State College, Pa., said the two-day storm was dumping a large but not overwhelming amount of snow on an area stretching from the Carolinas to New England.
"What's unique is the fairly big accumulation, but what's making it relatively easy is that it's over two days," Martin said Saturday.
Forecasters predicted accumulations of up to 20 inches in northern Pennsylvania, up to 15 inches in New Jersey, and 12 to 18 inches in New York City and its suburbs by the end of the weekend.
Flights were delayed or canceled early Saturday at Logan International Airport in Boston, where wind gusts were at 35 mph, an airport spokesman said. Cancellations and delays also were expected Saturday at New York's La Guardia and John F. Kennedy airports and New Jersey's Newark Liberty International, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
About 100 flights were canceled at Philadelphia International Airport on Friday, and some flights were delayed at Washington Dulles International Airport.
While the storm disrupted or postponed outdoor plans — including Frederick, Md.'s downtown Kris Kringle parade, which was delayed for a week — some people embraced the seasonal weather.
"We're loving it," said Tana Graham, visiting New York City from Jackson, Miss. "It's putting us in the Christmas spirit."
Others were dismayed at the prospect of digging out. Sucie Stevenson looked dejected while inspecting a shovel she had just bought at a home and garden center in Orleans, Mass.
"I love storms, but I don't like shoveling," Stevenson said.
Many schoolchildren got an early start to their weekend when dozens of schools closed early on Friday. Some high school students got a lucky break when several schools canceled Saturday's scheduled Scholastic Aptitude Tests.
Go to the "VIEW" button.....sheesh.
In other news of ersatz celebrities:
IN perhaps the gayest act of philanthropy in recent memory, sapphic superstar Rosie O'Donnell personally donated $25,000 to Harvey Milk High School to establish a "Fab Five Room" in the name of the swishy cast of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." Rosie made the announcement while emceeing an auction at Capitale the other night benefiting the Hetrick Martin Institute, the gay youth rights advocacy group that spawned Harvey Milk HS. Rosie, who declared that, at 222 pounds, "me and Aretha Franklin are the two heaviest people in show biz," raised $600,000 beforehand and $245,000 during the live auction. (pagesix)
Don't quit yer day job for the standup comedy circuit quite yet, Whiny Joe:
Sen. Joe Lieberman said: "If you were drowning 50 feet offshore, President Bush would throw a line 30 feet out and John Ashcroft would say, 'At least Bush met you more than halfway.'" (Cindy Adams)
Note that the "beautiful people" thought it was cruel to bring it up, but they never applied such sympathies to the original betrayal. What strange morals they have.
Morals? They have Morals? You could have fooled me.
Pop singer Britney Spears poses for photographers in South Korea traditional costume 'Hanbok' in Seoul, Monday, Dec. 8, 2003. Spears arrived Sunday for an Asia tour in support of her new album, 'In the Zone.' (AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man)
Guess who turns 60 today...well he would have if had lived...
Former members of The Doors, Ray Manzarek, keyboardist, left, and guitarist Robby Krieger, light candles at the grave of Jim Morrison (news) at the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris Monday Dec. 8, 2003. Morrison, the legendary singer of the rock badnd who died in Paris in July 1971 would turn 60 Monday. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)
Gore's decision may say as much about his evolution as it does about Dean's growing political strength. As vice president, Gore was identified with the centrism that Clinton promoted. But by endorsing Dean, Gore could cement his estrangement from the "New Democrat" agenda associated with the Democratic Leadership Council, a moderate group that has been Dean's sharpest critic inside the party.Methinkis they're deliberately missing THE point....Gore hasn't "evolved". His whole political centrism act was a LIE. We knew what Gore was...from his book if nothing else. But the press let him pretend to be a centrist.In his 2000 campaign, Gore emphasized more traditional liberal themes, especially a sharp-edged economic populism. In the last year, Gore has continued to identify with the party's more liberal wing...[NY Times]
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