Winter Weather Pounds Weary East Again
A storm stretching from the South to New England served up a dangerous mix of snow and freezing rain Friday, heaping more misery on Easterners still stuck in the aftermath of the Blizzard of ‘96.
The storm made roads and runways slippery and closed schools and offices in much of the East, which was blanketed in 1-1/2 to 3 feet of snow on Sunday and Monday.
In Pittsburgh, two buses collided head-on on a snow-covered highway, killing one person and injuring 52. Washington’s Dulles Airport closed briefly after a jet skidded while taxiing. No one was hurt.
The lure of an ice-covered South Carolina pond led to the deaths of two boys, aged 11 and 8, on Friday when they slipped through into the frigid water.
About 10 people were injured in a supermarket roof collapse while one person was slightly injured in the collapse of another store roof. Both happened on New York’s suburban Long Island and were attributed to the accumulation of ice and snow.
The ceiling of Harlem’s oldest black church collapsed Friday, destroying much of the sanctuary area and covering the landmark building with soot and debris. Church officials estimated damage at more than $1.5 million.
“The weight of the snow or the driving wind are probably to blame,” said Emily Frye, a lifelong member of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church. “I’m in shock and the congregation is devastated.”
In North Carolina, where up to 5 inches of snow fell in some areas, wind destroyed three homes and damaged at least a dozen others on Emerald Isle. No one was injured because the homes were unoccupied. One house had a wind speed indicator that was stuck at its top reading - 100 mph.
“The wind direction indicator they had blew away,” said Dan Bartholf of the National Weather Service.
For many, the wonder over winter’s power was wearing thin.
“I thought it would be like living in a little Christmas card up here,” said Helene Kirschbaum, a bookstore owner who moved to Concord, N.H., a year ago from New York. “Instead it’s like a white hell.”
Federal workers shouted and shoved one another on packed subway platforms in Washington on Thursday. There were reports of fistfights breaking out as crowded trains moved on a reduced schedule using fewer cars, and would-be riders waited hours to make the trip home Thursday night.
The streets were slushy but relatively quiet Friday as the federal government called off work again because of the snow.