Mid-Atlantic digs out of snowstorm, restores power

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Cities in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. awoke Sunday to below-freezing temperatures and piles of wet, heavy snow while power crews tried to restore electricity to hundreds of thousands of homes.

The National Weather Service called the storm “historic” and reported a foot of snow in parts of Ohio and 2 feet or more in Washington, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Parts of Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia got closer to 3 feet.

Many roads reopened, but officials continued to warn residents that highways could be icy and treacherous. The heavy, wet snow snapped tree limbs onto power lines, and several roofs collapsed under the weight. Philadelphia got 28.5 inches of snow Saturday, just shy of the record 30.7 inches during the January 1996 blizzard. Snow totals were even higher to the west in Pennsylvania, with 31 inches recorded in Upper Strasburg and 30 inches in Somerset.

Almost 18 inches 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 32 inches. Flights there have resumed, but are severely limited.

In Washington, the sun was finally shining Sunday and the sounds of shovels could be heard on streets. Officials were urging people to keep thoroughfares clear to let plows get through.

The nation’s capital took on a surreal, almost magical feel Saturday even though it was one of the worst snowstorms in the city’s history.

“Right now it’s like the Epcot Center version of Washington,” said Mary Lord, 56, a D.C. resident for some 30 years who had skied around the city.

-- Associated Press