Storm closes U.S. government, leaves hundreds of thousands without power
January 26, 2000
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. government workers were told to stay home again
Wednesday after a powerful winter storm swept up the East Coast, dumping
snow, paralyzing traffic, and leaving at least five people dead.
The storm moved toward Maine early Wednesday and was expected to drop
fresh snow on Pennsylvania and New England, a day after the governors of
Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina declared states of emergency in
hard-hit areas.
Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport, New York's LaGuardia and
Boston's Logan Airport, among others, were closed Tuesday.
East Coast storm paralyzes airports, roads, rails
In the Carolinas, nearly a quarter of a million customers were without
power because of downed electrical lines.
Second storm system on the way
Forecasters said the Southeast could expect a break from the heavy
precipitation Wednesday, but they warned that another storm could hit by
week's end.
Except for military and emergency personnel, the 250,000 federal workers
in Washington were excused from work for the second day in a row.
Tuesday's weather shutdown, the ninth since 1987, cost taxpayers $60
million in lost work, said Jon-Christopher Bua, director of
communications with the personnel office.
Congress only returned from its winter recess Monday and had a light
schedule -- but the snow wiped out most of it.
Girl plunges into icy river
At least three people were killed in weather-related traffic accidents
between Monday and Tuesday in the Carolinas, and two people were found
dead -- apparently from exposure -- in South Carolina.
A 5-year-old girl was missing and feared dead in Massachusetts after
falling into an icy river while walking to school in heavy snow.
National Guard troops were called up in Virginia and North Carolina and
were put on call in Maryland.
The National Weather Service measured 2 feet of snow in North Carolina's
Montgomery County -- where the whole county lost power -- and 20 inches
in Orange County. A record 18.2 inches fell at the Raleigh-Durham
airport.
"The amount of snow, I think, was a surprise to everybody," said North
Carolina emergency management spokesman Tom Hegele. He said the
hardest-hit area was Piedmont, in the center of the state, and that many
roads from Charlotte to Raleigh along the I-85 corridor were impassable.
"The snow has completely covered my car. It's gone, I can't even see
it," Thomas Allen said in Raleigh.
Cancellations pile up with snow
A New York City hotel doorman looks toward the sky as the winter's
first major snowstorm blankets Times Square
Across the region, the storm created travel nightmares for tens of
thousands of air travelers as cancellations piled up with the snow. By
late Tuesday afternoon:
American Airlines canceled more than 600 flights, almost its entire
operation, from Raleigh through Boston.
Continental canceled about 536 flights, mostly out of its Newark.
airport hub, covering the entire northeast corridor.
Delta canceled all flights in and out of Baltimore, Newark, JFK,
Hartford, Connecticut, Providence, Rhode Island and Portland, Maine.
Greyhound Bus Service was suspended southward from Boston to Richmond,
where blustery conditions made it difficult for snow plows to keep the
main highways clear.
Amtrak reported numerous cancellations that affected rail service
stretching from Miami to Boston and extending west to Chicago, while
snow tangled traffic along I-95 between Washington and Baltimore.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Mar 09 2000 - 21:55:38 EST