The eastern US emerged wearily from a massive blizzard that dumped huge amounts of snow and killed at least 25 people, but Washington was still reeling, with government offices and schools remaining closed yesterday.
The storm — dubbed “Snowzilla” — walloped a dozen states from Friday into early Sunday, affecting an estimated 85 million residents, who were told to stay indoors and off the roads for their own safety.
The 68cm of snow that fell in New York’s Central Park was the second-highest accumulation since records began in 1869, and more than 55cm paralyzed the capital, Washington.
Photo: AP
Near-record-breaking snowfall was recorded in other cities up and down the nation’s east coast, with Philadelphia and Baltimore also on the receiving end of some of the worst that Mother Nature could fling at them.
However, as the storm ended and temperatures rose, New York emerged from total shutdown and lifted a sweeping travel ban. Roads were reopened throughout the city, on Long Island and in New Jersey.
Broadway resumed shows, which were canceled on Saturday, and museums reopened, as snow plows quickly cleared the main avenues and temperatures hovered at about 0oC.
“We urge all New Yorkers not to travel on our roads, except when necessary, and to be extremely careful when driving,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio told a news conference.
In the nation’s capital, which is not as adept at handling winter weather as the Big Apple, authorities struggled to get the city back up and running.
Major roads were clear downtown, but side streets were still piled high with snow. Public schools were to remain closed and only limited public transportation was to resume.
Metro fares were to be waived as trains would begin running about every 25 minutes and only at underground stations on three of the city’s six lines. Only a few key bus lines were to be in operation from midday to 5pm.
Limited flight operations were to resume from Washington’s Reagan National and Dulles International airports, a day after officials battled in New York to get some aircraft off the ground.
The US House of Representatives has opted to remain out of session for the coming week due to the severity of the winter storm and related travel woes — with no votes set until Feb. 1.
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