Snowstorm blows through East Coast

Posted 8:59AM on Sunday 20th January 2002 ( 23 years ago )

States and cities sent out hundreds of snowplows and salt spreaders onto highways Saturday as a fast-moving storm spread ice and up to a foot of snow along a path through the Appalachians toward the Northeast. It was the first measurable snowfall of the winter for areas including Philadelphia, which had 4 to 8 inches by early afternoon. Winter storm warnings were posted for parts of West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. About five inches of snow had fallen in New York City's suburbs Saturday evening but there were few disruptions downtown, where less than two inches fell in Central Park. Earlier Saturday, dozens of cars and trucks slid off roads in other states. Locally heavy snow blanketed West Virginia and some neighboring areas of Kentucky and Virginia during the morning. Northbound Interstate 79 was closed by a tractor-trailer accident near Fairmont, W.Va., and dozens of other accidents were reported elsewhere around West Virginia, where 5 to 9 inches of snow was possible. The speed limit on the hilly West Virginia Turnpike was lowered to 35 mph. ``The driving conditions are terrible,'' said Joe Coen, a supervisor at Metro 911 in Charleston, W.Va. Up to a foot of snow had blanketed northeastern Kentucky by the time a storm warning was lifted for most of the area late in the morning. An exit off I-64 near the West Virginia state line was closed because a group of tractor-trailer rigs slid off the pavement. ``It's a bunch of mass mayhem there,'' said Kentucky state police dispatcher Keith Samson in Ashland. At Yeager Airport in Charleston, flights to and from Cincinnati and flights to Atlanta were canceled. ``We can't keep up with it,'' said Don Bennett, an airport police officer. Maryland got a head start on the storm, sending 1,500 highway workers out statewide with salt trucks and other equipment during the morning, and most major highways were still clear by afternoon. As a precaution, many colleges, churches and other organizations had called off activities planned for Saturday. Forecasters expected another couple inches of snow late in Maryland late Saturday, adding to the two to three inches that fell during the day. The Maryland Highway Administration urged drivers to be careful as untreated roads were expected to become icy. New York's Sanitation Department sent out 240 plows Saturday night but the city had put on standby 1,400 plows, 353 salt spreaders and more than 220,800 tons of salt. Downtown, work continued at the World Trade Center site. White snow covered parts of the rubble but soon melted, making things muddy and slippery for rescue workers. At the Rockefeller Center ice skating rink, Mary McCarthy laced up her daughter's skates. The pair, visiting from Richmond, Va., said they enjoyed the snow. ``I like it because you can eat it,'' said 7-year-old Lauren. More than 400 state trucks hit major roads in eastern Pennsylvania by late morning, officials said. Accumulated snow was not expected to last long in the Philadelphia area, where temperatures were expected to rebound into the upper 30s on Sunday. Accumulations of more than 3 inches were reported in southern parts of New Jersey, but there were no reports of major accidents or delays. ``Easy comes, easy goes. So enjoy the snow while it is here,'' said Bill Goodman at the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, N.J.

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