Record 37-Degree Chill in Miami : East Coast Reels Under Blizzard, Cold

Snow pounded the East Coast today, causing blizzard conditions from North Carolina to Delaware, and tourists hoping to escape winter’s fury shivered in record 37-degree cold in Miami.

The heaviest snow battered northeastern North Carolina, snarling traffic, canceling schools and closing businesses.

“We’ve got blowing snow,” said Gates County Sheriff Elmo Benton. “It’s 3 1/2 feet deep in some places. I walked through it this morning. It’s up past my knees at one point and 12 feet from it it’s 2 inches deep.”

Gusting winds were clocked at 61 m.p.h. in Duck, N.C.

The National Weather Service said the snow blanketed an area stretching from North Carolina to Massachusetts and was headed toward southern Maine.

“Very strong winds were rotating counterclockwise around the center of the storm and causing blizzard conditions from eastern North Carolina to Delaware,” the weather service said.

A half foot of snow descended on the New Jersey coast.

“It looks like a detergent commercial outside my window,” said Middle Township Police Capt. William Hevener. “It’s a white wall of wind and heavy snow. We’re dead center in it.”

At the height of the storm this morning, Atlantic City Airport in Pomona, N.J., was forced to close. The move blocked access by air to the gambling resort for fans hoping to see tonight’s World Boxing Council middleweight title bout between champion Iran Barkley and Roberto Duran.

In Boston, Ga., a 7-month-old baby girl was found dead in an unheated home with the temperature hovering in the low 20s outside. Authorities said they believe Precious Fleming froze to death.

At Houghton Lake, Mich., the mercury sank to 14 degrees below zero, the coldest in the nation.

Panama City, Fla., recorded 24 degrees and 21 m.p.h. winds at 7 a.m., but the coldest reading in the state was at Milton, with 21 degrees, or 9 degrees with the wind chill factor.

The mercury dropped to 31 at Orlando, Fla., in the citrus belt, cold enough to add sweetness to the fruit but not enough to damage it, growers said.