234250
227917
World  

Another snowstorm for US

The second big, blustery storm to hit the Northeast in less than a week brought wet, heavy snow Wednesday to a corner of the country where tens of thousands of people were still waiting for the power to come back on from the first bout of wintry weather.

The nor'easter closed schools and government offices, grounded flights and raised fears of another round of fallen trees and electrical outages as it made its way up the East Coast.

A wintry mix of snow and light rain started falling before daybreak in many areas, but the precipitation was expected to turn soon to all snow in most areas and continue through the day.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning through Thursday morning from the Philadelphia area through most of New England. Forecasters said snow accumulations could easily surpass a foot in areas west of the Interstate 95 corridor, with some places in northwestern New Jersey expected to get up to 2 feet.

Hundreds of flights across the region were cancelled even before the first flakes fell, and the number was expected to climb as conditions deteriorated.

The morning commute went smoothly in most areas, as the storm had not yet kicked into high gear. But motorists were urged to avoid travel so crews could treat and clear roads.

"I'm not looking forward to another round of this, but it is what it is," Chris Martin said as he prepared to leave his Toms River, New Jersey, home and head to work at an information technology firm in Philadelphia. "All in all, it hasn't been a terrible winter, and it seems that March is always our worst month for major storms. We're a hardy bunch, so some snow and rain isn't going to stop us."

Martin had already arranged to stay in Philadelphia overnight.

"If Mother Nature wants to give us one last blast of winter, that's up to her," he said.

Heavy, wet snow and gusting winds could take down trees already weakened from last Friday's storm and snap power lines, to the distress of customers who have gone days without power.



More World News