The Nation : Brutal Storm Exits With a Parting Shot

As utility crews repaired snapped power lines in Georgia and Alabama, and highways were reopened in Georgia and North and South Carolina, the storm that virtually closed the nation’s capital and dumped more than a foot of snow from Texas across the South and into New England moved across Maine and toward Nova Scotia. The storm’s last gasp left as much as 10 inches of snow near Wilmington, Vt.; 11 inches at Winstead, Conn., and 15 inches at Old Orchard Beach, Me. Temperatures began to ease and the sun shone across much of the South and Plains, but authorities warned that could create new ice hazards when water from melting snow froze during the night. The snow and severe cold were blamed for at least 67 deaths since Jan. 2, including 20 from exposure. In the Atlantic off the Maine-New Hampshire coast, four Coast Guardsmen had ridden out the storm overnight in a disabled patrol boat. They were reported to be cold and hungry, but otherwise fine after being rescued.