By
DAN GELSTON and MICHAEL RUBINKAM
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A plodding storm that dumped heavy snow on the
unsuspecting Mid-Atlantic region threatened to make roads dicey in the
northeast corridor for Monday's commute while travel disruptions
continued to ripple across the country days after the same system first
began wreaking havoc in the skies.
The seemingly never-ending storm that coated parts of Texas in ice
struck with unexpected force on the East Coast, blanketing some spots in
a foot of snow and grinding highways to a halt.
Travel problems could linger into Monday afternoon, with freezing
rain and icy conditions sticking around as wintry weather stretched from
Missouri to Maine.
The storm canceled more than 2,500 flights Sunday and delayed
thousands more, according to estimates from the website Flightaware.com.
More than 1,000 of Monday's flights were already canceled, the greatest
share from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which was still
reeling from the effects of the ice storm that brought North Texas to a
standstill.
The forecast for Monday remained up in the air for the northeast,
depending on how quickly the system moves and temperatures rise,
according to the National Weather Service. Meanwhile, a winter storm
warning was in effect until 10 a.m. for Washington, D.C., and Baltimore
where up to a quarter inch of ice was expected because of freezing rain
that could cause power outages.
The expectation was for another weather system moving out of Virginia
to follow the same path as Sunday's storm overnight. It was expected to
dump icy drizzle and eventually freezing rain through the New York City
area and into Boston, National Weather Service meteorologist Greg
Heavener said.
Indeed, slippery conditions were reported overnight in the New York
City area: a crash involving about 20 vehicles closed southbound lanes
of Interstate 95 in Greenwich, Conn., for a couple of hours. No serious
injuries were immediately reported.
Forecasters said air travel would likely remain a hassle, too.
"I think the further north you look, departures and arrivals could be affected because of icy issues," Heavener said.
What was forecast in the Philadelphia area to be a tame storm system
with about an inch of snow gradually changing over to rain mushroomed
into a full-blown snow storm. Bands of heavy snow made for a wide range
of accumulation: a foot was reported in Newark, Del. Philadelphia
International Airport received 8.6 inches, more than it had all of last
year. Other areas received far less: a little over an inch was reported
in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, which usually is hit harder than
downtown Philadelphia.
Sunday's snow fell so heavily in Philadelphia that yard markers at
Lincoln Financial Field - where the Eagles beat the Detroit Lions - were
completely obscured. It was almost as bad in Pittsburgh, where the snow
intensified after the opening kickoff.
Philadelphia fan Dave Hamilton, of Ivyland, layered up for the game in Eagles gear.
"Twenty-seven years I've been a season-ticket holder, I've never seen
snow at the game like this," he said. "It just kept coming down."
Heavy snow in the Philadelphia area led to a number of accidents,
including a fatal crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike that spawned
fender-benders involving 50 cars, stranding some motorists for up to
seven hours. More than two dozen vehicles were involved in another
series of crashes on nearby Interstate 78.
Paul Jones, 24, a youth hockey coach from Warminster in the
Philadelphia suburbs, was on his way to a game in Lancaster when he got
stuck - along with his fiancee, another coach and three players - in a
major backup on the turnpike.
The roadway was "snow-covered, slick," Jones said in an interview
from the car, where he was a passenger and had been at a standstill for
more than an hour.
"People are in and out" of their vehicles, he said. "Kids are having a
snowball fight on the side of the road, making snow angels, people are
walking their dogs.
Philadelphia International Airport spokeswoman Stacey Jackson said a
number of passengers were expected to remain in the airport overnight
since area hotels had been full for several days. She said staff would
hand out pillows and blankets to travelers to make them "feel at home
even though they are not."
Air passengers in the Washington-area experienced increasing delays
at both Dulles International and Ronald Reagan Washington National
airports.
Virginia, parts of West Virginia and the metropolitan Washington,
D.C., area braced for blackouts under steady freezing rain, wet snow and
sleet. Parts of northwest and southwest Virginia and southern West
Virginia got snow, while sleet and freezing rain prevailed west and
north of Richmond.
In Maryland, a chain-reaction accident on Interstate 81 in Washington
County involving more than 20 vehicles delayed snow removal efforts for
hours. The highway was closed for more than three hours after a
tractor-trailer ran into the median to avoid cars that had spun out. It
was hit by another tractor-trailer that overturned and spilled its load.
Several other tractor-trailers ran off the road and jackknifed as their
drivers tried to avoid the crash.
But the nasty weather wasn't limited to the East Coast. Nebraska and
Iowa saw snow; multiple weather-related crashes were reported in
Wisconsin, including two that were fatal; thousands of customers lost
power in Mississippi because of sleet and freezing rain.
A snowstorm that hit along the Utah-Arizona border left hundreds of
travelers stranded on Interstate 15 overnight into Sunday. The Arizona
Highway Patrol said passengers in about 300 vehicles became stranded
after up to 10 inches of snow and slick road conditions prompted the
closure of part of the highway. There were no immediate reports of
serious injuries.
The specter of bad driving conditions for Monday's commute had some
motorists concerned not just about getting to work, but getting out at
all. New Jersey's new U.S. senator, Cory Booker, tweeted a promise to
one Mount Holly resident to help him shovel out his car if he still
needed the help in the morning.
Auburn QB Nick Marshall (AP Photo)