Northeast Snowstorm Closes Major Highways, Schools

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PORT JERVIS, N.Y. (AP) -- The first big snowstorm of the season in the Northeast closed sections of major highways Tuesday and blacked out more than 100,000 utility customers.

The National Weather Service posted a winter storm warning for parts of New York state, in effect until 8 a.m. Wednesday, and issued winter storm advisories for parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Vermont.

''It looked like a mini blizzard in October,'' said Joe Orlando, spokesman for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. ''We're salting the roads and we haven't even gone trick-or-treating yet.''

Up to a foot of snow was possible in parts of upstate New York, with wind blowing at 25 mph and gusting to 40 mph, and as much as 9 inches of snow was forecast in Vermont's mountains, the weather service said. Up to 13 inches of snow had fallen by Tuesday afternoon in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains.

Schools closed or delayed their openings in parts of Pennsylvania and New York state.

New York's Thruway Authority said Interstate 84 was closed for part of the morning at the New York-Pennsylvania line in the Port Jervis area. It was reopened by late morning.

Stretches of Interstate 80 in northeastern Pennsylvania were closed intermittently because of multiple tractor-trailer wrecks, state agencies said.

PPL Corp. said about 39,000 of its customers in northeastern Pennsylvania lost power when the heavy, wet snow brought down trees and power lines. Utility companies in New Jersey said about 67,000 customers lost power, mostly in the northern part of the state, and New York State Electric & Gas said about 14,000 customers in southern New York counties were without electricity Tuesday evening.

Arrival delays into New York's La Guardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport were averaging more than two hours in the middle of the afternoon because of wind. Low ceilings were delaying some flights out of Philadelphia's airport more than four hours, the Federal Aviation Administration reported.

Elsewhere, light snow fell at higher elevations of the southern Appalachians. National Park Service spokesman Bob Miller said U.S. 441 through Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina was closed for part of the morning while crews spread sand.

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[maplecookie Veteran]

/me whines

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII want snow!!!!!!!!!!!

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^ You can have it all.

I want Georgia sunshine :cool:

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Thousands Still Lack Power After Northeast Storm

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Thousands of utility customers around the Northeast awoke without power Wednesday morning, a day after the season's first big snowstorm blew through the region.

The wet snow fell on trees still covered in fall leaves, and its weight, combined with gusty winds, sent limbs crashing down on power lines.

In upstate New York, more than 40,000 customers were without power Wednesday morning, most of them in the Mohawk Valley, Adirondacks and the Catskills, according to statements by utilities National Grid and New York State Electric & Gas.

The National Weather Service reported snowfall totals ranging from 6 to 8 inches in northern New York, to a foot or more along the northwestern edge of the Catskill Mountains.

Lower elevations and coastal areas were soaked by heavy rain.

In New Jersey, crews were working to restore power to more than 30,000 customers, mainly in the northern part of the state.

Jersey Central Power and Light says most of its outages are in Morris, Warren, Hunterdon and Sussex counties. Service could be restored by Wednesday afternoon, the utility said.

Accumulations from the unusual wintry weather include about 14 inches at New Jersey's High Point State Park and about a foot in Lebanon Township, the National Weather Service said.

In Pennsylvania, parts of the Pocono Mountains were under a foot of snow, but an earlier wind advisory has been canceled.

A lake effect snow warning has been posted for northwestern Pennsylvania Wednesday, with accumulations of up to 12 inches possible in higher elevations.

More snow and wind was in the forecast for Vermont Wednesday as the storm works its way through the northern part of the state.

The National Weather Service posted a winter storm warning for heavy snow in Orleans and eastern Franklin counties through Wednesday night, with 3 to 9 inches accumulation.

The northern central and eastern parts of the state also are expected to see more snow Wednesday.

There was even snow in western North Carolina. One school system in the state's mountains was closed Wednesday because of slick roads after 1 to 3 inches of snow fell a day earlier. The earliest known snowfall in the Asheville, N.C., area was less than a half inch on Oct. 1, 1952, the weather service said.

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