Posted on 02/17/2003 11:31:51 AM PST by yonif
The worst blizzard to hit the mid-Atlantic and central Appalachian states in seven years shut down much of the region on Presidents Day with windblown snow that piled up as much as 4 feet deep, halting air and some rail travel and killing at least 20 people.
The snow was part of a huge system that had charged in from the Plains and up the Ohio valley during the weekend and charged up the East Coast. It also produced rain, mudslides and floods in the South and Appalachians, and ice that snapped trees and power lines, leaving more than 235,000 customers without electricity.
The heaviest snow was in the high country of the central Appalachians: 49 inches in western Maryland's Garrett County and 27 in West Virginia's Berkeley County, the National Weather Service (news - web sites) and local officials said. The Seven Springs ski resort area near Champion in western Pennsylvania recorded 40 inches. To the west, parts of Ohio reported ice 8 inches thick.
Flakes piled up at a rate of up to 4 inches an hour in parts of Maryland. Gov. Robert Ehrlich declared a state of emergency.
Governors in Kentucky, New Jersey, West Virginia and Delaware also declared emergencies, closing roads and in some cases mobilizing the National Guard to help with the mess.
"This is looking like the largest storm this year, and it may be one of the top five in our recorded history," said Lora Rakowski of Maryland's Highway Administration. "You name a place, they've got snow — and a lot of it."
New York City reported blizzard conditions Monday, and some New Jersey and Delaware beach communities had flooding caused by a storm surge and a full-moon high tide.
The major airports at Philadelphia and Washington were closed Monday except for one runway at Washington Dulles International Airport. New York's LaGuardia closed all its runways; Newark and Kennedy officially stayed open but almost all domestic flights were scrapped. Amtrak suspended service between Washington and Richmond, Va., and canceled about 25 percent of its Northeast trains.
Among the many travelers stranded by the storm, few were as far from home as Lynn Anderson of Belfast, Ireland.
"It's turned into a complete nightmare. I've never been stranded by myself before," said Anderson, who arrived in Philadelphia on Sunday hoping to go to Williamsburg, Va., but had to stay overnight in a downtown Philadelphia hotel.
It was the region's worst snowstorm since the blizzard of 1996, when at least 80 deaths were blamed on the weather.
Washington was largely shut down Monday by snow up to 15 inches deep. It could take early three days to clear some side streets, said Mayor Anthony Williams.
And that created a disposal problem. "Once you've plowed this stuff, where do you dump these mountains of stuff?" Williams said.
Philadelphia had 17 inches with a forecast of 18 to 25. Eighteen to 22 inches was expected in New York City, where the 11 inches of dense, fine snow already on the sidewalks made walking feel like a workout on a Stairmaster. Up to 22 inches had fallen in New Jersey.
The storm was following a northeasterly track, with the snow heading into northern New England. Snow also continued falling across the Ohio Valley as far west as Indiana.
Wrecked cars lined highways around Louisville, Ky., after heavy rain turned to sleet and ice. More than 60,000 homes and businesses in Kentucky were without electricity as the ice broke power lines and tree limbs, and the weather service reported flooding along all the state's major rivers.
"You'll go down a street and you're lucky if you can get from one end to the other without having to drive around trees," said Pat Dugger, director of environmental and emergency management in Lexington, Ky.
In West Virginia, some of the approximately 95,000 residents without electricity were told crews might not be able to restore power until at least Wednesday. More power outages were reported in Ohio, the Carolinas and Virginia.
Southern West Virginia also had flooding, with the Lincoln County town of Hamlin cut off by high water Monday. "Mother Nature, I think, is trying to figure out how she can deliver the perfect storm to West Virginia," Gov. Bob Wise said. "She's just about got the combination."
Elsewhere, rising water forced people from their homes in Middle and East Tennessee and closed several roads. More than 7 inches of weekend rain triggered a mudslide that destroyed an apartment building outside Knoxville.
Hospitals in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania asked for volunteers with four-wheel-drive vehicles to help employees get to and from work.
"It's very nerve-racking out there, because you can't even find the road," said Merrie Street, a spokeswoman for the Harford County, Md., emergency center.
Weather-related deaths included two in Illinois, one in Nebraska, five in West Virginia, six in Missouri, one in Ohio, one in New Jersey and four in Iowa.
This is everyday stuff where I'm at. ;)
Seriously, looks like the East Coast got socked. When you're not used to snow, this kind of a system can be devastating. Stay warm and keep safe!
And if you can, check in on the elderly and offer to shovel for them.
Women and minorities the worst affected
Bush Administration does nothing to prevent the storm
GREAT HUMANITARIAN CRISIS LOOMS
Stay safe, yonif.
Sigh, envy...
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