Schools Close, Highways ‘a Demolition Derby’ : Storms Bring Snow, Heavy Rain to East

A storm dropped up to nine inches of snow across the Northeast Wednesday, and freezing rain glazed highways in the mid-Atlantic states.

Heavy rain fell from the Gulf Coast to the Carolinas, and a flash flood watch was posted for western South Carolina. The Ocmulgee and Oconee rivers in Georgia were running even with the tops of their banks, officials said.

In the Northwest, meanwhile, another storm system was approaching and a winter storm watch was posted for northern and central Idaho, where up to eight inches of snow was expected at higher elevations overnight.

Snow fell throughout the morning in the Northeast. Massachusetts reported accumulations of six to nine inches in most areas. Connecticut reported up to 7 1/2 inches, and four to eight inches of snow fell in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. Schools were closed in many localities.

Traffic Accidents

Travelers’ advisories were in effect from the Virginias to eastern New York. Dozens of traffic accidents were reported.

“It’s a demolition derby out there,” said state police Cpl. Stephen Riland in Maryland.

A truck carrying barrels of toxic chemicals overturned Wednesday on a snow-slick road in Hoosick, N.Y., near Albany. The barrels, which contained methyl chloroform, toluene and ethyl ketone, did not leak, and no students were in a school across the street from the accident because classes had been canceled, authorities said.

The six inches of snow that hit New York City caused few problems, but the Sanitation Department’s $9-million snow removal budget is depleted, after 15 snow days this year. The department will run a tab with the city Board of Estimate until spring.

Colorful Budgeting

“The white put us in the red, and now we have to go back to get more green to put us in the black,” department spokesman Vito Turso said.

About 15 houses in Chester County, Pa., were evacuated overnight when the cold caused a gas main to rupture, Ron Harper, a spokesman for Philadelphia Electric Co., said. No gas escaped before repairs were completed, and residents later were allowed to return home.

In northeast Georgia, where Tuesday’s ice and freezing rain pulled down numerous power lines, emergency workers had restored electricity to most customers.

Tennessee residents were not so lucky. At least 200 customers in Sewanee, Tenn., remained without power for a sixth day, and Duck River Electric Membership Corp. general manager Charles Grissom said that repairs to ice-damaged lines might not be completed until the weekend.

Frigid temperatures dogged the country’s midsection. Low-temperature records were broken Wednesday in Fayetteville, Ark., where it was 3 below zero, and Springfield, Mo., where it was 10 below. Other cold spots included McAlester, Okla., with minus 6; Wichita, Kan., and Joplin, Mo., with minus 1; and Kansas City, Mo., with minus 4. The nation’s low was 23 below zero at West Yellowstone, Mont., the National Weather Service said.