US hit by killer snowstorms
At least 14 people died today as a treacherous mixture of rain, sleet and snow blanketed America’s north-east.
Schools cancelled or delayed classes from New York to Maine as roads became coated with ice and winds gusted to 40 mph.
“It’s snowing so hard you can hardly keep your eyes open,” said Bill Swain, spokesman for Maine’s Sugarloaf USA ski area.
Forecasters said a foot of snow was possible in the mountains of northern New England, with the potential for 20 inches in northern Maine.
Ice storm warnings were issued for Massachusetts and Connecticut, while winter storm warnings were in effect in Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and northern and western New York.
Air travel was disrupted at the Portland International Jetport in Maine as flights were cancelled because of poor conditions at connecting airports.
Hundreds of flights into the New York City area’s three main airports - Kennedy, Newark Liberty and LaGuardia – were delayed as long as two hours last night because of wind and ice, but no delays were reported early today.
Ice caused a JetBlue plane to slide off the runway at Syracuse’s Hancock Airport late Sunday. No one was hurt, but it took crews two hours to free the stuck plane.
Lingering rain and poor visibility caused about 50 flight cancellations yesterday afternoon at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, forcing about 75 people to stay at the airport overnight.
The weather was blamed for four deaths in Michigan, three in Wisconsin, two in New Jersey and one each in Illinois, Indiana, New York, North Dakota and Colorado.
