Northeast Storm Sets Records, Hampers Travel

[CaptinCrunch]

Northeast Storm Sets Records, Hampers Travel
7AM EST, December 8, 2003

Snows that set records for this early in the season move out of New England today
after shutting down roads, airports and shopping trips on a two-day march up the
East Coast.

At least 11 deaths, most of them trafficrelated, were blamed on the storms. And
forecasts of midweek rain on snowclogged roads could mean more travel
hazards for the region late in the week.

The next storm could be a big rain producer and some flooding could be
possible due to the combination of mild temperatures, melting snow and heavy
rain.

Parts of Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York got 2
feet or more. Accumulations were more than a foot in many parts of New
Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Meteorologists attributed the heavy snow to an unusual merging of two storms.
The first hit late last week and dropped several inches of snow as it traveled up
the Mid-Atlantic coast. Late Friday, that storm combined off New England with
a classic ''nor'easter,'' a circular storm system that moves up the Eastern
Seaboard. The merged storms produced the heavy snowfall farther north.
''In Boston, you couldn't even distinguish between the two periods of snow,''
Kocin said.

Airports across New England and the New York City area were closed
Saturday or running at a fraction of capacity. Stranded passengers slept on
floors or draped themselves across chairs at Boston's Logan International
Airport, which slowly reopened Sunday after hundreds of flights were canceled.
The problems in the Northeast had a ripple effect at airports across the USA,
many of which experienced related delays and cancellations Saturday.
Saturday's snowfalls matched or broke the record for Dec. 6 in several cities,
including Boston and New York. In Hartford, the 12.5 inches of snow shattered
the old record of 6.9 inches Dec. 6, 1964.
In Boston, Saturday's 11.9 inches of snow matched a Dec. 6 record from 1981.
By Sunday, accumulations were reaching 18 inches, and plow drivers struggled
with where to put it all. Mayor Thomas Menino warned of $250 fines for people
caught shoveling snow onto roads from driveways or walks.
Local officials throughout the storm area said the effect of the snow was
lessened because it didn't come on a weekday, when roads would have been
thick with commuters.

But retailers lamented the loss of business on what typically is a big holiday
shopping weekend.

''We definitely were down (Saturday), about 28% compared to last year,'' said
Judy Stover, manager of The Body Shop, a hair- and skin-products store in
downtown Boston. But more people were coming in as the storm moved out of
town Sunday. ''Things are picking up,'' Stover said. ''I think people have cabin
fever, and they just want to get out, no matter what.''