Colorado Gets Snow; Waves Batter East Coast

Snow fell Wednesday as far south as Texas, while a powerful Atlantic storm kept East Coast fishermen in port and hurled 10-foot waves at sandbagged Brooklyn homes.

A storm dumped so much snow on Colorado that Aspen Mountain planned to open its slopes to skiers on Saturday--the earliest opening date in the resort’s 45-year history.

Light snow fell on the Texas Panhandle, and forecasters said that up to four inches could fall by today. The snow was preceded by heavy rain that moved into South Texas, causing flooding along the way.

Crews in Dallas piled sandbags along a levee on the overflowing Trinity River and prepared to evacuate residents threatened by flooding. The river rose nine feet above flood stage.

In Colorado, the first snowstorm of the season dumped about a foot of snow on Denver’s northwest suburbs and an inch or more elsewhere.

Heavy snowfall--up to a foot in the southern mountains--prompted both the Aspen and Vail ski resorts to plan for weekend openings. The central mountains have received about 36 inches of snow in the last five days.

The storm brought five inches of snow to Cheyenne, Wyo., and bitterly cold air flowed over the northern part of the state.

It was 9 below zero Wednesday in Sheridan, Wyo., snapping the record low for the date of one above zero set 68 years ago. Temperatures dipped to record lows in several North Dakota cities, including Bismarck and Minot.

In the Atlantic, a storm off Nova Scotia buffeted Portland, Me., with gusts up to 50 m.p.h.

The storm sent the tides four feet above normal along the New Jersey coast, where two of the three thoroughfares into Atlantic City were temporarily closed.

In New York, choppy waters and strong winds kept most fishermen in port, and boaters secured their vessels by adding double lines and tying extra knots.