Snow, Freezing Rain Bring Peril for Travelers, Close Businesses

Snow and freezing rain fell over much of the nation Tuesday, creating havoc for travelers and forcing schools and businesses to close.

New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani postponed his first State of the City speech and declared a limited snow emergency.

With snow falling in the New York area at a rate of up to three inches an hour, the three major airports halted all inbound flights for most of the day. Only a handful of planes managed to take off in near-zero visibility, officials said.

The New York Stock Exchange and American Stock Exchange remained open, but several commodities exchanges closed early.

New Jersey state employees were sent home at midday, and Newark International Airport closed when almost nine inches of snow fell, a record for the date.

National Airport in Washington, D.C., was shut temporarily by a jet that skidded off a runway on the ice. Logan International Airport in Boston had extensive weather-related flight delays, officials said.

Snow also fell across other parts of the Northeast, with up to a foot possible in western Massachusetts.

Scattered school closings were reported in New York, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

A chartered bus overturned during a snowstorm in New Jersey en route to the casinos of Atlantic City, and at least 20 people were injured, state police said.

Roads covered with snow and ice contributed to chain-reaction pileups Tuesday in Minnesota and Oklahoma. Six people died and about 50 others were injured in the Minnesota accident.

Three feet of snow fell overnight at Summitville, Colo., in the San Juan Mountains, with one to two feet elsewhere in south-central Colorado, the National Weather Service reported.