North Comes Back to Life After Storm

Shoppers seeking bargains shoveled through three-foot drifts in some places and plows struggled to clear roads as the Northeast dug out Thursday from a scenic but deadly Christmas snowstorm.

Flakes at one point fell at the rate of 5 inches an hour in the state capital of Albany, and 103 miles of the New York State Thruway were closed down because plows couldn’t keep up with the storm.

But by daylight, emergency crews and residents were gaining the upper hand. The highway reopened, as did several airports that were forced to suspend operations.

“It took us three hours to dig ourselves out,” said Paul Cooper, who lives with his wife, Carol, in the Hudson Valley community of Lyonsville, N.Y., where a local newspaper headline proclaimed: “Whiteout Christmas.”

“Irving Berlin was lucky. He didn’t have to drive,” Cooper said.

In Albany, where 22 inches of snow fell, travelers crowded into the Best Western Airport motel after drifts on runways forced Albany International Airport to close.

“If I were a polar bear, I would be in my glory,” said Patrick Hamilton, who works at the motel’s front desk. “I found some kids who were willing to make a few bucks to dig me out.”

When Jennifer O’Leary arrived at work at 8 a.m. at Albany’s Cross Gates Mall, the assistant marketing director for the 250-store complex found plows rapidly clearing the parking lots. “The shoppers are all here. It’s one of the biggest days -- most definitely,” she said.

The storm, which originated in the Midwest Plains and spread snow across Pennsylvania before gaining strength from Atlantic Ocean moisture, has killed at least 23 people since Monday. The toll could have been far worse, but most businesses and schools were shut for Christmas and many drivers either stayed home or already had reached their holiday destinations.

At the height of the storm, dozens of municipalities declared state of emergencies to deal with the quickly falling snow. Utilities from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts scrambled to restore power to tens of thousands of people.

In Centerville, about 50 miles east of Syracuse, N.Y., 34 inches of snow was reported. About the same amount was measured in nearby Cooperstown.

Officials in Woodstock, Vt., measured 27 inches; Goshen, Mass., 16 inches. And in Franklin, Maine, residents said the tally hit 22 inches.

The few businesses that remained open on Christmas said many customers stayed home.

“Everyone who came more than six miles away canceled for Christmas dinner,” said Jim McGinnis, assistant innkeeper at Barrows House in Dorset, Vt. “Most of them are not from this area. They are mostly New Yorkers, Bostonians, not used to a lot of snow like this.”

“Up here, there is a different attitude toward driving. We drive a little slower and our vehicles have studded winter tires,” he said. “It makes a difference. Everyone gets around.... All the plows were out, and life went on. It was just a little slower.”

Brad Rosenstein, president of Jack’s Oyster House, a landmark restaurant in Albany, said waiters planned to serve about 600 customers on Christmas. About 300 people showed up.

“I guess it is the cost of doing business in the Northeast,” he said. “We have plenty of food from yesterday.”

As the storm moved northward, the amounts of snow increased. In Manhattan, where 5 inches fell on Central Park, the flakes quickly turned to slush.

“I will take full credit for being the first mayor in 31 years to deliver a white Christmas,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg joked.

But north of the city in the Hudson Valley leading to Albany, there was far less humor. The snow, whipped by fierce winds, caused whiteout conditions.

“Yesterday, we went to a Christmas dinner at my son-in-law’s and daughter. We were able to get there OK, but coming back was such a blizzard, I was doing four or five miles an hour,” Cooper, of Lyonsville, said. “My kids said, ‘Mommy, Daddy, please call us when you get home.’ They were only a mile and a half away.”