Snow, Arctic Air Lash a Dozen States

Snow, freezing rain and arctic air lashed much of the nation Friday, shutting offices and schools in a dozen states.

Several deaths were attributed to the weather, including two people near Chicago: A 77-year-old woman was killed when a snowplow backed into her and an elderly man collapsed and died as he shoveled snow. Another death was blamed on icy roads in northern Oklahoma.

A mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain fell from northern Virginia into southern New England, with some accumulations totaling 7 inches. And snow continued across the Great Lakes region, with 36 inches reported at Finland, Minn., since noon Thursday, and 23 inches at Duluth, Minn.

Among the hardest hit areas was Philadelphia, with freezing rain and icy roads prompting the city to send all nonessential employees home.

Interstate 95, the main highway through the area, was shut down and a snow emergency was declared by the state of Pennsylvania.

All commuter bus service was shut down in the Philadelphia area, although trains and subways kept operating. New Jersey bus operations were also curtailed.

Highways around New York City were coated in an icy crust, causing hundreds of minor accidents as road crews struggled to lay down enough sand and salt to keep up with the sleet and freezing rain.

“It’s a complete mess. The roads are terrible,” said a Connecticut State Police officer in Hartford.

The West Virginia Turnpike was shut down for several hours after a tractor-trailer accident, and numerous accidents were reported on Interstate 81, although they occurred at slow speeds and no one was hurt, said sheriff’s Deputy John Vanorsdale.

“I-81 is nothing but a sheet of ice,” he said. “People are on the median. People are over the banks. People are off the shoulders.”

Airports from Pennsylvania to Maine reported delays due to snow or ice on the Tarmac, and ice closed two of four runways at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport early Friday.

Delta and USAir shuttles connecting New York with Washington and Boston were disrupted, running every two hours instead of the usual hourly schedules.

“Everything’s so backed up we’re just getting one flight on the runway at a time,” said one Delta operations manager.

Forecasters said that snow was not the main problem.

“The worst thing isn’t so much the snow. It’s the ice that’s causing most of the problems,” said Accu-Weather Inc. forecaster Jim Candor in State College, Pa.

A sudden plunge in temperatures Friday morning snapped some electrical lines in western Wisconsin, leaving about 600 customers without power for four hours.

Snow that wrought havoc in eastern Kentucky earlier in the week melted into a flash-flood hazard Friday, rolling across roads and prompting some evacuations.

In South Dakota, where there was heavy drifting, many schools canceled classes.

Boston was buried in nearly a foot of snow and could get a foot more before the storm passes late Friday, Candor said.

Overturned trucks and skidding cars littered highways throughout New England, and most schools were closed in the six-state region.

Forecasters attributed the storm to a stubborn weather pattern formed by moisture gathering in the lower Mississippi Valley and meeting gradually colder air as it moved northeast.

The storm was expected to bring at least another day of snow, sleet and freezing rain throughout the Appalachians and the Northeast.

Ski resort operators from New Jersey to Maine were having their best season in years, thanks to a rapid-fire succession of snowstorms since just after Christmas. “It’s some of the best skiing we’ve had this early in the season in 10 years,” said Molly Maher of the Ski Vermont trade group.