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January 24, 2005Northeast Digs Out of Deadly BlizzardBy THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 1:11 p.m. ETBOSTON (AP) -- The weekend winter storm dumped more than 3 feet of snow in parts of New England, creating drifts that reached to the eaves of some one-story buildings and prompting the closure of schools from Maine to Virginia on Monday. Meanwhile, frustrated travelers in Boston, New York and Philadelphia waited for transportation after a weekend in which more than 2,000 airline flights were cancelled.At least 15 deaths were linked to the weather: three in Connecticut, three in Ohio, three in Wisconsin, two in Pennsylvania, and one each in Maryland, Delaware, Iowa and Massachusetts. States of emergency were declared in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Jersey.Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney asked nonessential state workers in the eastern part of the state not to come to work, and Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri closed all state and municipal offices Monday.Among those whose court appearances were delayed: ``Survivor'' star Richard Hatch, who had faced arraignment in Rhode Island in a tax case, and defrocked priest Paul Shanley, who faced trial on abuse charges in Boston.On Massachusetts' Nantucket island, where an 84 mph wind gust was reported, the storm plunged the entire island into darkness until most service was restored Sunday night. The island's fire department worked to reach to reach people at risk in areas cut off by drifts up to 6 feet high.``We just don't have the equipment to handle that amount of snow,'' said Nantucket deputy fire chief Mark McDougall.Two eastern Massachusetts communities -- Salem and Plymouth -- got 38 inches of snow each, according to the National Weather Service. Parts of New Hampshire got 2 feet, New York's Catskills collected at least 20 inches and more than a foot fell in parts of New Jersey. Earlier, the weather system had piled a foot of snow across parts of Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and northern Ohio.The main road on Cape Cod, U.S. 6, was reopened during the night but the pavement was snow-covered and traffic was slow, said Barnstable police Sgt. Sean Sweeney, who had to spend the night at a hotel because power was out at his home.Other major roads were restricted to a single lane of traffic, many secondary roads remained impassable and the Cape Cod Times did not publish a Monday edition.``The plows could not keep up with (the snow),'' Sweeney said. ``We were getting 60 mph winds.''Boston's Logan International Airport was shut down for nearly 30 hours until crews were able to reopen one runway at 8 a.m. Monday.More than 900 flights were canceled Sunday morning at the New York metropolitan area's Newark, Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, in addition to about 700 that were grounded Saturday, Port Authority officials said.Philadelphia's airport reopened Sunday, after a shutdown and flight cancellations on Saturday stranded hundreds of travelers. About 50 travelers spent Sunday night at the airport, down from the 800 who had stayed the night before. Airport spokesman Mark Pesce said about 15 percent of arrivals and departures were canceled Monday morning.Chicago's O'Hare International was nearly back to normal with only one flight canceled Monday, and that was because of delays on the East Coast, said spokeswoman Annette Martinez. During the weekend, nearly 1,300 flights were canceled at O'Hare because of the weather.The biggest problem in northern Maine was the teeth-chattering wind. Rich Norton of the National Weather Service, said the wind chill Sunday morning was 33 below zero in Frenchville, and 27 below in Bangor and Presque Isle.The cold air extended all the way south to Florida, where Monday morning lows were in the upper 20s across the northern part of the state. Freezing temperatures registered as far south as Ocala, which fell to 25. Marathon in the Florida Keys reported 49 degrees -- with a wind chill of about 37
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