Click photo to enlarge
An off ramp is seen covered with snow during a winter storm
in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The Mid-Atlantic United States has begun carving a
path through the piles of wet, heavy snow in below-freezing
temperatures while power crews tried to restore electricity to
hundreds of thousands of homes and clear streets for work on
Monday (local time).
The National Weather Service called the storm "historic" and
reported 30cm of snow in parts of Ohio and 60cm or more in
Washington, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Parts of
Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia got closer to 1m.
Many roads reopened but officials continued to warn residents
that highways could be icy and treacherous. The snow snapped
tree limbs onto power lines and several roofs collapsed under
the weight. In Washington, city officials said it was unclear
if the roads would be clear enough for workers to get in on
Monday.
Some people without electricity worried whether the power
would return in time for the Super Bowl kickoff - though
it was an afterthought for others just trying to stay warm.
Julia Nickles-Bryan and her husband, Charles Bryan, were more
focused on keeping their twin 7-year-old daughters warm
inside their Baltimore home - where the thermostat read
8degC. All they had to heat the home was a gas stove, gas
water heater and a fire in the fireplace.
"We're basically camping," Nickles-Bryan said. Asked if she
liked camping, she said, "No."
The power had been out since daybreak on Saturday at Loriann
Signori's home in the Washington suburb of Silver Spring,
Maryland, where it was so cold that her pet beta fish froze
inside its bowl. Luckily, he reanimated with the help of some
spring water that was warmed up on the stove.
"The school a block down has power and if they'd just open
it, we could shelter there," she said.
Almost 45cm of snow was recorded at Washington's Reagan
National Airport, which is closed. That's the fourth-highest
storm total for the city. At nearby Dulles International
Airport in Virginia, the record was shattered with 81cm.
Flights there have resumed, but are severely limited.
Authorities say most public transportation in Philadelphia
has resumed in the wake of the city's second-largest
snowfall. But in Pittsburgh, bus and light-rail service was
suspended.
Jurij Bilyk, 48, was clearing snow from the front of his
garage because he was on call as an eye surgeon at Wills Eye
medical centre in Philadelphia, which has an emergency room
that can be hopping on holidays.
"Usually the biggest days are New Year's Eve and July Fourth
because of firecrackers," he said. "Car accidents, fights - a
lot of it's fights. Super Bowl isn't too bad if the Eagles
aren't playing."
Steve Bartholomew, 57, a Philadelphia math teacher out on a
coffee run, said he was hoping for a snow day on Monday as
much as his students.
"I enjoy what I do and I like being in school - but it's a
gift from God," he said.
