Snow, Ice Wreak Havoc Along East Coast

Jan. 27, 2004

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Power remained out for hundreds of thousands of customers in the Carolinas on Tuesday after a winter storm that left at least 14 people dead as it ground its way up the East Coast.  

At least six people have died in traffic accidents in South Carolina since the ice storm hit on Monday. It cut power to more than a quarter of a million homes and businesses, authorities said.

Motorists stranded in North Carolina swamped emergency operations centers with calls, and parts of Interstate 95, the main East Coast artery, were closed at times due to disabled trucks.

"These are some of the worst roads I've seen in 12 years; it's 100 percent exactly like an ice hockey rink," Lt. Mike Williams of the Cary Police Department told WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Due to icy roads across the state, North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley urged residents to stay home and not to drive unless it was absolutely necessary. Eight motorists have been killed in weather-related accidents, he said.

"Temperatures are either at or below freezing, roadways are still iced up and it can turn dangerous out there in an instant," Easley said in a written statement. He alerted about 1,000 National Guard troops to be ready for active duty.

In Washington, the government decided to let federal employees go home three hours early because of the bad weather, officials said.

Amtrak canceled at least two passenger trains between New York and Miami because of power outages, frozen switches and widespread signal problems.

MIDWEST STORM

A separate storm system brought heavy snows to parts of the U.S. Midwest, and forecasters said both storm systems were expected to merge during the next day over southern New England.

Snow and gusty winds prompted some 300 flight cancellations at O'Hare International Airport and up to 2-1/2-hour delays on several other flights on Tuesday.

Bitter, sub-zero cold along with high winds swooping in behind the storm added to the misery and reduced the effectiveness of road salting.

In one part of Minnesota, they were measuring the snowfall in feet.

The National Weather Service at Duluth on Lake Superior said 27.1 inches of snow fell in a storm that began on Sunday and continued through Monday.

"Everyone coped pretty well," a forecaster said. The hardest hit areas were hilly residential neighborhoods above the port's commercial district, where moisture-laden winds from Lake Superior increased the snowfall. The total was the third-highest ever recorded in Duluth.

By contrast, the city's downtown area escaped with only 14 inches.

Temperatures in northern Minnesota hovered just above zero Fahrenheit (-18 Celsius) at mid-morning and readings well below zero were forecast at night for most of this week.

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