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U.S. NEWS A3
Friday 22 January 2016
US East Coast ready for possible record snow storm
BEN NUCKOLS we’ll see really strong winds Richard Warner, of Newtown, Pa., tries to decide between snowblowers at a Lowe’s home
Associated Press in the metro area, possibly improvement warehouse, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016, in Langhorne, Pa. The northern mid-Atlantic
WASHINGTON (AP) — A 40 to 50 mph. That’s going region, including Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia, is preparing for a weekend snowstorm
massive blizzard bore down to cause a lot of blowing that is now forecast to reach blizzard conditions.
on the eastern United and drifting snow, and it’s
States on Thursday, a day also going to reduce visibil- (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
after an inch of snow fell ity to about zero at times”
in the District of Columbia, around Washington and
Maryland and northern Vir- Baltimore, National Weath-
ginia, causing hundreds of er Service meteorologist
accidents and leaving driv- Dan Hofmann said.
ers gridlocked for hours. High winds could make it
The preview raised con- miserable outdoors even
cerns among people where smaller amounts of
scrambling to prepare for snow are expected. Fore-
up to 2 feet (0.6 meters) of casters warned of 30 mph
heavy wet snow and bliz- (48 kph) winds in Man-
zard conditions across the hattan on Saturday and
Mid-Atlantic region. Icy coastal flooding in New
conditions caused acci- Jersey. Boston, which bore
dents that killed two drivers the brunt of massive snow-
in North Carolina and one storms last year, is expect-
in Tennessee. A truck with ed to get just a few inches.
a snowplow killed a pedes-
trian while it was snowing in The strongest winds and
Maryland. potentially life-threaten-
“It’s going to be danger- ing blizzard conditions are
ous out there,” said Tonya expected Friday night
Woods, 42, a Metro station through Saturday night,
manager. She had a much making driving very dan-
longer-than-usual drive gerous along the Interstate
home to suburban Clinton, 95 corridor. Train service
Maryland, on Wednesday could be disrupted as well,
night, and worries that Fri- by frozen switches, the loss
day will be much worse. “I of third-rail electric power
say they should shut things or trees falling on overhead
down,” she said. wires.
College basketball games, About 1,000 track workers
Garth Brooks concerts and will be deployed to keep
other events in the storm’s New York City’s subway sys-
path were canceled as tem moving, and 79 trains
were district schools. Fed- will have “scraper shoes”
eral workers were waiting to reduce icing on the rails,
to learn if they’ll be told to the Metropolitan Transit Au-
stay home on Friday. thority said.
States of emergency also All major airlines have is-
were declared in North sued waivers for travel over
Carolina, Virginia, Mary- the weekend, allowing pas-
land and Pennsylvania, sengers to rebook onto ear-
where road crews were out lier or later flights to avoid
in force Thursday. Blizzard the storms. The airports in-
watches were in effect cluded vary by carrier, but
along the storm’s path, American Airlines, for ex-
from Arkansas through Ten- ample, has canceled most
nessee and Kentucky to of its Friday and Saturday
the mid-Atlantic states and flights in the eastern U.S.,
as far north as New York. including all 654 flights at
Kentucky’s legislature can- its hub in Charlotte, North
celed its Friday session Carolina. American’s flights
ahead of an expected 14 should resume on Sunday
inches (356 millimeters) of at the three Washington
snow. The heaviest snow- and Baltimore area airports
fall, up to 2 feet was fore- and New York’s three air-
cast for areas west and ports, the company said.
southwest of the nation’s The snow grounded the
capital. Washington itself helicopter that President
could see up to 20 inches Barack Obama usual-
(51 centimeters), Philadel- ly uses to travel from An-
phia could get 12 to 18, drews Air Force Base to the
and New York City and White House, and it took
Long Island could see up to the presidential motor-
10 inches (25 centimeters), cade about an hour and
said meteorologist Patrick 14 minutes to travel the 15
Burke. miles (24 kilometers).q
“In addition to heavy snow,
