BLIZZARDS WHIPPING across the east coast of America have forced the cancellation of more than 2,000 flights and stranded thousands of rail and bus passengers.
The snow was at its worst yesterday morning, dumping up to 10cm (four inches) an hour with as much as 140cm in total expected across Rhode Island, Connecticut and eastern Massachusetts.
Forecasters predicted 80kph (50mph) winds could create deep snow drifts, causing disruption for travellers and commuters returning to work.
In the middle of the usually busy post-Christmas period, airlines were not expecting normal service until today.
More than 1,400 flights out of New York’s three main airports were cancelled, while train operator Amtrak cancelled services from New York to Maine after earlier halting trains in Virginia.
Some 2,400 sanitation workers were working 12-hour shifts to clear New York’s 9,650km of streets.
Michael Bloomberg, the city’s mayor, told a press conference: “I understand that a lot of families need to get home after a weekend away, but please don’t get on the roads unless you absolutely have to.
“Our sanitation department has 365 salt spreaders and 1,700 snow ploughs ready to fight the storm. We also have more than 180,000 tonnes of salt on hand at 30 locations.” The deepest snow – 1.5m – was recorded in Monmouth county, New Jersey, where ploughs were having difficulty clearing snow because abandoned cars were blocking roads.
Ambulances were unable to reach a passenger bus that stalled on Garden State Parkway. Emergency officials encouraged businesses to let employees in Rhode Island report to work late, saying road conditions for the morning commute would be treacherous.
Steve Kass, a spokesman for the state emergency management agency, said: “You don’t want to get your employees hurt. The roads are not going to be good, that’s for sure.” There has been heavy snow in other parts of the US, with a state of emergency called in Maryland, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Maine, New Jersey and Virginia.
South Carolina and Georgia, both southern states, recorded their first white Christmas in more than a century. Cancelled flights began on Saturday, while airlines suspended operations at John F Kennedy International, La Guardia and Newark International in New Jersey yesterday.
Boston’s mayor, Thomas Menino, declared a snow emergency, banning parking on main streets, while the New England Aquarium bubble-wrapped its four 1.5m penguin ice sculptures to protect them from the wind and snow. The national weather service said the blizzards were being caused by a low-pressure system off the North Carolina coast which intensified as it moved northeast. (Guardian service)