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| Winter storm causes havoc up and down the East Coast | Winter storm causes havoc up and down the East Coast |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| While the Washington area grabbed much of the attention Saturday, snowstorms brought life to a halt along the rest of the East Coast as well, flooding streets in New Jersey, stranding thousands of drivers in Kentucky, canceling and disrupting thousands of flights — including the vice president’s — and prompting New York authorities to ban all vehicles from the roads. | |
| Officials throughout the region pleaded with residents to stay off roads. But few put it as forcefully as New York. | Officials throughout the region pleaded with residents to stay off roads. But few put it as forcefully as New York. |
| “Stay off the road,” the New York City Police Department said in a tweet. “We don’t want to have to arrest you.” | “Stay off the road,” the New York City Police Department said in a tweet. “We don’t want to have to arrest you.” |
| The ban on motorists in downstate New York took effect at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and was expected to last until Sunday at 7 a.m. New York City also halted above-ground subway service and buses Saturday afternoon; the buses were expected to resume Sunday at 7 a.m., but it was unclear late Saturday when the trains would resume operation. | |
| The storm caused at least 18 deaths across the country, most of them in car accidents, according to the Associated Press. | |
| Saturday’s storms dumped much more snow on New York than most forecasters had expected. During a Saturday morning news conference, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) described it as “one of the worst snowstorms in New York City history.” If more than 20 inches were to fall, he said, the storm would rank among the top five dating back to 1869. | |
| “I don’t care how tough we are as New Yorkers,” said New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D). “The roads are really dangerous, and it’s only going to get worse.” | “I don’t care how tough we are as New Yorkers,” said New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D). “The roads are really dangerous, and it’s only going to get worse.” |
| Cuomo, however, emphasized that potential flooding — not the snow itself — was his top concern. He said state officials were closely monitoring water levels ahead of high tide Saturday night and Sunday morning. | Cuomo, however, emphasized that potential flooding — not the snow itself — was his top concern. He said state officials were closely monitoring water levels ahead of high tide Saturday night and Sunday morning. |
| Officials say the storm, combined with the tidal effects of a full moon, may bring severe coastal flooding in some parts of the East Coast. Photos shared online Saturday morning by police departments along New Jersey’s coast showed streets underwater and stretches of small coastal towns already flooded. | |
| A mandatory evacuation was ordered in the town of Barnegat, N.J., because of flooding. Several nearby towns were also issued voluntary evacuation orders. | |
| New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who returned to the state from the presidential campaign trail Friday, declared a state of emergency. | New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who returned to the state from the presidential campaign trail Friday, declared a state of emergency. |
| “We expect some street flooding, which is fairly typical for storm events on the coast in New Jersey,” Christie said Saturday morning on NBC. “But at least as of now, we are not expecting any type of major flooding incidents along the coast.” | |
| States of emergency were declared in at least 10 states: Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, New York, Maryland and Virginia. | |
| Several states spent the day grappling with power outages, with the Carolinas and New Jersey the hardest hit. As of midday Saturday, nearly 140,000 customers were without power in North and South Carolina, and nearly 49,000 in New Jersey. | |
| Meanwhile, passengers were stranded across the region after airlines as of Saturday evening canceled more than 10,000 flights scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, according to FlightAware.com. | |
| Those stranded included Vice President Biden and his wife, whose flight from Turkey was diverted to Miami, according to the White House. | |
| Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter found himself similarly diverted, to Tampa, on his return from a trip to Davos, Switzerland. Not even the Defense Department’s powerful “doomsday plane” on which Carter flies — which can withstand fallout from a nuclear bomb — was risking the storm. | |
| But few could top the ordeal in Kentucky, where several thousand motorists became stranded overnight when icy conditions closed a 30-mile stretch of highway for more than 13 hours Friday night and Saturday morning. | |
| Traffic on Interstate 75 ground to a halt, authorities said, after large trucks were unable to get up steep hills and cars started slipping and sliding. But no injuries were reported. | Traffic on Interstate 75 ground to a halt, authorities said, after large trucks were unable to get up steep hills and cars started slipping and sliding. But no injuries were reported. |
| Motorists posted pictures and videos throughout the night as their anger and boredom turned to sleep-deprived goofiness. | Motorists posted pictures and videos throughout the night as their anger and boredom turned to sleep-deprived goofiness. |
| An indie band began serenading fellow drivers on the roadway and uploaded an impromptu song about the experience to YouTube, recorded from inside their RV. | An indie band began serenading fellow drivers on the roadway and uploaded an impromptu song about the experience to YouTube, recorded from inside their RV. |
| Similarly stuck on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the Duquesne University men’s basketball team — trying to get home after Friday afternoon’s game against George Mason University — tweeted a picture of its players pretending to push their bus through the standstill traffic and another picture of their senior forward making snow angels on the road. | Similarly stuck on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the Duquesne University men’s basketball team — trying to get home after Friday afternoon’s game against George Mason University — tweeted a picture of its players pretending to push their bus through the standstill traffic and another picture of their senior forward making snow angels on the road. |
| Back in New York, clever opportunists tried to take advantage of the storm and grab unused tickets to the smash Broadway musical “Hamilton.” They stood on snowdrifts in a line as long as a city block outside the Richard Rodgers Theatre, only to be disappointed when de Blasio ordered all Broadway theaters to close. | |
| Along New York’s nearly deserted West Side Highway, a 30-year-old courier named Christopher Bomba pedaled a bike uncertainly across hard-packed snow, somehow balancing a package on his handlebars and staying upright. Bomba, covered in latex snow gear from his eyebrows to his heels, was headed from Midtown to the Financial District, where deliveries were expected no matter what. “This is my second job,” he said. “I’ve got two kids.” | Along New York’s nearly deserted West Side Highway, a 30-year-old courier named Christopher Bomba pedaled a bike uncertainly across hard-packed snow, somehow balancing a package on his handlebars and staying upright. Bomba, covered in latex snow gear from his eyebrows to his heels, was headed from Midtown to the Financial District, where deliveries were expected no matter what. “This is my second job,” he said. “I’ve got two kids.” |
| “If I can’t ride the bike, I’ll hand-carry,” he said. | “If I can’t ride the bike, I’ll hand-carry,” he said. |
| Meanwhile, outside a residential tower on Greenwich Street, parking attendant Benicio Loja pushed a snow shovel at the entrance to an indoor garage, where he expected to be sleeping that night because his shift relief could not make it into the city. | |
| “The other guys can’t get here,” he said. “It’s okay. It’s quiet, and it’s warm.” | |
| Jenkins reported from New York. Mark Berman contributed to this report. | Jenkins reported from New York. Mark Berman contributed to this report. |