Near-blizzard dumps snow across US Northeast; 9 deaths blamed on storm, 2,200 flights stopped
NEW YORK, N.Y. - A winter storm slammed into the U.S. Northeast with howling winds and frigid cold, dumping nearly 2 feet (60 centimetres) of snow on some areas and whipping up blizzard-like conditions Friday. Nine deaths have been blamed on the storm.
By Friday morning, about 2,200 flights were cancelled nationwide, according to the aviation tracking website FlightAware.com. Most were in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
Governors in New York and New Jersey declared states of emergency, urging residents to stay at home. Hundreds of schools were shut down in Boston and New York, extending the holiday break for tens of thousands of students.
"This is nothing to be trifled with," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. "People should seriously consider staying in their homes."
The storm has led to at least nine deaths as it sweeps across the eastern half of the U.S. Slick roads have caused traffic deaths in Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois.
A massive pile of salt fell on a worker at a Philadelphia storage facility, killing him. And authorities say a woman with Alzheimer's disease froze to death after she wandered away from her rural New York home.
Forecasters said temperatures were plummeting to well below freezing, and wind chill readings could hit minus 10 Fahrenheit (minus 23 Celsius).
Another wave of cold air already was moving through the Midwest after coming down from Canada.
Outreach teams were searching streets in New York City and Boston for homeless people at risk of freezing to death.
Some major highways in New York state were shut down overnight, and some commuter trains around New York City were operating on a reduced schedule.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ordered nonessential state workers to stay home Friday. State offices and courthouses were closed. State offices were also closed in Massachusetts.
The heavy weather began rolling in Thursday, just a day after New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was sworn in to lead the nation's largest city.
De Blasio, who in 2010 criticized predecessor Mayor Michael Bloomberg for his handling of a post-Christmas storm, said 1,700 snowplows and 450 salt spreaders hit the streets.
"I feel great about the response," De Blasio said Friday after shovelling the sidewalk outside his Brooklyn home. "We are vigilant. We are not out of this yet."
The snowstorm had worked its way east from the Midwest, where it dropped up to 17 inches (431 millimeters) in parts of Chicago.
