A thick blanket of snow covered US Northeast today, as the fifth major storm of the winter set snowfall records, delayed the opening of financial markets and clogged Washington highways with abandoned cars.
Snow fell from Virginia to Maine last night and into this morning, putting additional strain on cities and states already faced with overwhelming budget deficits. Almost 630,000 homes and businesses in the region lost power, but utilities said they hoped to restore electricity to most in the next two days.
The latest storm in an unusually snowy winter even trapped US president Barack Obama who was among thousands of motorists on snow-blocked roadways at the height of the storm last night. Washington drivers reported 45-minute commutes turned into 10-hour nightmares when major thoroughfares became gridlocked with hundreds of abandoned cars.
New York has now recorded its snowiest January on record after 48cm fell on the city overnight, twice the amount forecast and just short of the 51cm that paralyzed the city on December 26th-27th and created a political crisis for mayor Michael Bloomberg because of a botched cleanup.
New York City has exhausted its snow budget of $38 million, forcing the city draw money from its general fund, a spokesman said. Smaller cities stand to feel the pinch even more.
US government offices opened two hours later than normal in Washington, where the US Commerce Department altered its release of durable goods data, cancelling the "lockup" in which it gives reporters the data for 30 minutes under embargo and instead posting the information on its website live.
In New York, floor trading on the US oil futures market, the COMEX commodities exchange and the ICE agricultural and currency exchange opened a half hour or more later than usual because of the snow.
The city cancelled school for only the ninth time since 1978 because of snow.
Amtrak suspended service between New York and Boston. New York City buses, commuter trains and subways all experienced delays, though the streets were noticeably clearer this time than after the December 27th blizzard.
The New York area's John F. Kennedy International and Newark airports were closed for 10 hours and LaGuardia was also impacted. Officials cancelled 2,142 flights yesterday and today.
After the snow grounded Mr Obama's helicopter, his ground convoy could only inch its way along from Andrews Air Force Base in Virginia to the White House. Mr Obama had been on a one-day trip to Wisconsin to sell his State of the Union speech, which he delivered to Congress on Tuesday.
His motorcade crawled through vehicles stuck in the snow and then got caught in snarled rush-hour traffic on the approach to the capital. At times his SUV and his protective vehicle escort became separated from the main body of the convoy, which included Mr Obama's personal ambulance.
In Philadelphia, where 300 flights were cancelled, the storm closed courts and public schools, knocked out power some 15,000 households, and halted service on most city bus routes. Nine passengers spent part of the night on a bus that got stuck in the snow, officials said.
Boston's Logan International Airport saw 200 cancellations, and in the suburb of Lynn a partial roof collapse trapped two people in a vehicle parked inside a building, officials said. Both people were taken to hospital.
In Center Moriches, New York, a woman was killed when struck by a snowplow yesterday.
Reuters