Posted on 02/10/2010 10:10:27 PM PST by myknowledge
Blizzards and icy winds paralysed the northeastern United States on Wednesday, shutting down federal government for a third day and spreading Washington's misery north to New York and Boston.
The latest falls made 2009-2010 the snowiest winter on record for the capital and brought conditions so perilous that people were banned from driving in the nearby city of Baltimore.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered schools closed for a rare "snow day" and the United Nations headquarters were also shuttered, but the worst of the weather was initially further south in snow-weary Washington.
Residents had barely dug themselves out from an avalanche of weekend snow when fresh blizzards struck, this time with Arctic winds of up to 88km/h that made even the shortest trip hazardous.
"I urge all residents to heed the warnings of local officials and prioritise safety by staying off the roads unless absolutely necessary," Department of Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano said in a statement.
One person was killed and another injured in a pile-up in central Pennsylvania, but most people heeded official advice to stay indoors and avoid driving.
All flights from Washington airports were suspended and airlines operating out of New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Chicago reported cancellations and delays.
"Storm total snowfall of 50 to 75cm... with highest totals north and east of Baltimore. Drifts 90 to 180cm," read the latest bulletin from the National Weather Service.
Residents in Maryland and Virginia and the capital Washington faced more long days trying to entertain stir-crazy kids, some families still battling without power almost a week after the first storm barrelled in.
Some snow ploughs in Baltimore were diverted to the port to pick up emergency shipments of salt to grit roads before they became treacherously icy.
"We just got a national weather alert saying that the conditions are life-threatening out on the streets so we've gone into phase three," said Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
"That means only city-authorised emergency vehicles are allowed to be on the city roadways," she told CNN, describing it as the worst two-day blizzard to strike the area since 1922 and threatening fines to offenders.
Initially dubbed "Snowmageddon" by the local media, the humour has darkened as the novelty of the winter storms has worn off.
Federal government offices in the US capital were closed for the third straight day - the first time that has happened in more than a decade - while fresh snow piled up on three feet of weekend dumps.
Most of the 230,000 federal employees in the Washington area were off work, costing an estimated $US100 million ($A114.31 million) a day in lost productivity.
At the White House, where President Barack Obama had no public appearances planned, ghostly silhouettes could be made out on the roof clearing packs of snow to prevent dangerous accumulation.
The premises were largely deserted, although some offices remained open and operational.
Secret Service personnel abandoned their usual posts to hunker down in their cars.
Washington, Virginia and Maryland have all declared emergencies, allowing them to mobilise the National Guard. Maryland was already relying on National Guard humvees to help out and answer some emergency calls.
Good thing the government was shut down for a third consecutive day.
Let it stay that way if we wish.
The liberal crowd would think that if the government shuts down, the whole country goes down.
It seems the blizzards proved them wrong. The country is still running, but without the corrupt fed gubmint.
How long do you think America can run without a fed gubmint?
Bush’s Fault!!!
Where is Algore...
Maybe God just voted for gridlock. It works for me. Can’t push through the health bill or anything else.
Al Gore is frozen in ice.
There are millions of shovel ready jobs on the east coast this week. Obummer - Biden making good on Jobs.
But the Gov shuts down.
LOL - I recall people who make their living on the radio commenting about how much fodder Clinton gave then to work with when he was President. Clinton can’t hold a candle to these idiots.
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