Spring Break
Northeast pounded by snowy late-winter storm
Associated Press
Issue date: 3/2/09 Section: News
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A day earlier, the same storm hammered the Southeast as it made its way north, blanketing Civil War statues and canceling hundreds of church services around the region.
By Monday, the storm had moved as far north as New Hampshire, and most areas in the storm's wake expected to see at least 8 to 12 inches of accumulation.
The blizzard-like snow - together with sleet, freezing rain and wind gusts of up to 30 mph - contributed to four deaths on roads in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and on New York's Long Island.
An accident caused a 15-mile-long traffic jam in North Carolina, where as much as a foot of snow fell, and prompted police and rescuers to go car-to-car Monday to check on the stranded motorists.
In New York City, about 7 inches of snow was recorded at Central Park by Monday morning.
New Yorkers expressed characteristic resilience, struggling to get to work and appointments, and patching together child care arrangements.
Diane Lugo, 29, of Yonkers, had to leave her two children with her mother-in-law rather than drive them to day care. She got a ride with her husband to avoid trudging 10 minutes in the slush to her bus stop.
"Getting out of the driveway was pure hell," Lugo said in Manhattan, where she works as a college admissions coordinator. "He got to work late. I'm obviously late."
Outside the Sound Shore Medical Center in New Rochelle, Emilia Rescigna struggled to push a stroller through the snow and slush. In the stroller, asleep under a plastic tent, was her 1-year-old son Adam, who had a 9 a.m. appointment with his pediatrician.
"I called the doctor's office last night and this morning, to see if the appointment was still on, but no one was in," said Rescigna, a Bronx resident. "After all this they better not tell me I have to come back."
More than 900 flights were canceled - a majority of all flights at Kennedy, Newark and LaGuardia airports, according to the Port Authority. Travelers were urged to call their carriers. Most flights in and out of Boston's Logan International Airport were scrubbed on Monday, and the aiport shut down for about 40 minutes to clear a runway. Philadelphia International Airport spokeswoman Phyllis VanIstendahl said about 44 people were stranded there overnight.
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