U.S.’s East Coast Digs Out From December Snowstorm
Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) — Washington began digging out today from its biggest December snowfall in more than seven decades as cities from Philadelphia to Boston dealt with mounds of snow and slushy messes left behind by the storm.
The snowfall stranded motorists, canceled more than 1,600 flights and closed malls throughout the mid-Atlantic region on the last shopping weekend before Christmas. As much as 24 inches (60 centimeters) of snow fell on Bethesda, Maryland, while 16 inches was measured at the National Mall in Washington and 23.2 inches were recorded at Philadelphia International Airport, the National Weather Service said.
“This is definitely the biggest snowstorm on record for D.C. in December,” said Alan Reppert, a meteorologist for AccuWeather.com Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania.
The Associated Press reported five people died due to the storm system, three of them in Virginia and two in Ohio.
The previous record in December for snowfall in Washington was 12 inches in 1932, said meteorologist Alan Reppert. Meteorologist Eric Wanenchak said Philadelphia’s total was the city’s December record and the second-biggest accumulation ever behind the 30.7 inches that fell in early January 1996.
U.S. government offices in Washington will be closed tomorrow as the area cleans up, the Office of Personnel Management said today.
Two Feet Deep
New York City’s Central Park recorded 10.9 inches of snow, while Upton on New York’s Long Island had 24.9 inches, said Accuweather meteorologist Frank Strait. In New Jersey, some towns in Burlington, Ocean and Camden counties had 24 inches, the National Weather Service said.
Snow fell on Boston and eastern Massachusetts overnight and this morning, though it’s expected to begin tapering off later today, Strait said. He said accumulations of about a foot are expected in the Boston area with more on Massachusetts’ Cape Cod.
Air Canada, that country’s largest carrier, warned customers about cancellations as the storm heads into Canada’s Maritime Provinces, where about 10 inches of snow is expected.
Washington and Baltimore airports remained open during the storm yesterday, though U.S. Airways Group Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and AMR Corp.’s American Airlines canceled 1,903 flights between them. Today, US Airways has grounded 644 flights, said spokesman Andrew Christie. Delta expects a “similar, but lower” number of cancellations today than the 800 flights canceled yesterday, said spokesman Paul Skrbec. American spokesman Charley Wilson said 167 flights have been scrubbed.
Sidelined Shoppers
The Washington Metro resumed limited bus service this morning after stopping yesterday afternoon. Rail service will continue underground only and the agency will evaluate whether rail service can be restored to the 39 above-ground stations later today.
The storm also slowed holiday shopping in the region as malls reopened after yesterday’s storm. The 10 days before Christmas have typically made up 40 percent of total holiday sales for November and December, according to Joseph Feldman, managing director at Telsey Advisory Group in New York.
Minneapolis-based Target Corp. said today it will extend its store hours this week along the East Coast to accommodate shoppers who were sidelined by the weather.
The storm failed to disrupt an unusual weekend session of the U.S. Senate, where legislators passed a $636.3 billion defense spending measure yesterday and moved on to consider health-care legislation.
The weather forecast prompted the National Football League’s Baltimore Ravens to postpone the start of their game against the Chicago Bears today by more than three hours, to 4:15 p.m. local time, according to the team’s Web site. The Philadelphia Eagles also postponed their scheduled kickoff against the San Francisco 49ers to the same time, the NFL said.
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