WASHINGTON — The Mid-Atlantic U.S. today began carving a path through the piles of wet, heavy snow in below-freezing temperatures while power crews tried to restore electricity to hundreds of thousands of homes and clear streets for work on Monday.
The National Weather Service called the storm “historic” and reported a foot of snow in parts of Ohio and 2 feet or more in Washington, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Parts of Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia got closer to 3 feet.
Many roads reopened but officials continued to warn residents that highways could be icy and treacherous. The snow snapped tree limbs onto power lines and several roofs collapsed under the weight. In Washington, city officials said it was unclear if the roads would be clear enough for workers to get in Monday.
Julia Nickles-Bryan and her husband, Charles Bryan, were focused on keeping their twin 7-year-old daughters warm inside their Baltimore home — where the thermostat read 47 degrees. All they had to heat the home was a gas stove, gas water heater and a fire in the fireplace.
“We’re basically camping,” Nickles-Bryan said. Asked if she liked camping, she said, “No.”
The power had been out since daybreak Saturday at Loriann Signori’s home in the Washington suburb of Silver Spring, Md., where it was so cold that her pet beta fish froze inside its bowl. Luckily, he reanimated with the help of some spring water that was warmed up on the stove.
“The school a block down has power and if they’d just open it, we could shelter there,” she said.
Almost 18 inches of snow was recorded at Washington’s Reagan National Airport, which is closed. That’s the fourth-highest storm total for the city. At nearby Dulles International Airport in Virginia, the record was shattered with 32 inches. Flights there have resumed, but are severely limited.
In Philadelphia, 28.5 inches of snow fell Saturday, just shy of the record 30.7 inches during the January 1996 blizzard. Snow totals were even higher to the west in Pennsylvania, with 31 inches recorded in Upper Strasburg and 30 inches in Somerset.
Authorities say most public transportation in Philadelphia has resumed in the wake of the city’s second-largest snowfall. But in Pittsburgh, bus and light-rail service was suspended.
Jurij Bilyk, 48, was clearing snow from the front of his garage because he was on call as an eye surgeon at Wills Eye medical center in Philadelphia, which has an emergency room that can be hopping on holidays.
“Usually the biggest days are New Year’s Eve and July Fourth because of firecrackers,” he said. “Car accidents, fights — a lot of it’s fights. Super Bowl isn’t too bad if the Eagles aren’t playing.”
Steve Bartholomew, 57, a Philadelphia math teacher out on a coffee run, said he was hoping for a snow day Monday as much as his students.
“I enjoy what I do and I like being in school — but it’s a gift from God,” he said.
In New Jersey, more than 90,000 customers lost power during the storm’s peak. By this morning, 59,000 homes and businesses — nearly all in Cape May County — remained without power. Workers from other areas were pitching in and state crews were trying to clear roads.
In Washington, the sun was finally shining today and the sounds of shovels could be heard on streets. Officials were urging people to keep thoroughfares clear to let plows get through.
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