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By The Associated Press
Source: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...d=519&ncid=716
A fast-moving winter storm packing fierce winds, frigid temperatures and snow pounded the East on Thursday, causing fender-benders and travel woes as well as dangerous cold.
A cold snap retained its grip on the Northeast, where high temperatures remained in the single digits and teens. A wind chill of minus-46 degrees was recorded in Watertown, N.Y., with an early morning low temperature of 31 below zero.
The heaviest snow fell from Minnesota to Michigan where up to 9 inches was reported. Strong winds produced blizzard-like conditions in parts of the Great Lakes and Upper-Midwest. Portions of Michigan were already buried in up to 10 inches of snow from a previous storm.
The heaviest snow Wednesday fell in Detroit's far northern suburbs — 10 inches in Genesee, Lapeer and northern Oakland counties. Lesser amounts still posed problems, causing dozens of fender-benders and spinout accidents on Detroit-area freeways.
"I'm brushing as much snow out of my eyes as I am off my car," said Layla Abdul-Rahman, 32, of Dearborn. "This would be a good time to buy a ticket back to Lebanon," where she is from.
U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt (news - web sites) of Missouri, a candidate in Michigan's Feb. 7 Democratic presidential caucuses, was scheduled to hold a town hall meeting in Burton Wednesday. But the storm prevented his plane from landing at Bishop International Airport in nearby Flint. After circling Bishop for 45 minutes, his plane headed for Grand Rapids, where he attended a 6 p.m. rally.
In New Jersey, dozens of spinouts and fender-benders were reported early Thursday as motorists slowly made their way across snow-covered roads and icy bridges. The snow was expected to taper off during the morning commute, but blowing and drifting snow was possible for most of Thursday.
"It's the light fluffy kind of snow (and) should be easy for people to move around," said Mark DeLisi, a forecaster with the weather service's Mount Holly, N.J., office.
The bitter cold continued to cause problems for New Jersey residents and motorists, and temperatures were not expected to exceed the freezing mark until sometime this weekend. Public Service Electric & Gas, the state's largest utility, said service calls have more than doubled during the cold spell.
About 3 1/2 inches of snow had been measured in New York's Central Park by just before 1 a.m., and light to moderate snow could continue through the overnight hours, according to National Weather Service (news - web sites) meteorologist Mike Silva.
The coldest temperatures in New York City were expected after the snow stops, with winds picking up so much that the wind chill Thursday night was expected to be about 20 degrees below zero.
Anyone outside unprotected in the low temperatures will "realize it in about five minutes," said National Weather Service meteorologist Adrienne Leptich. "Their faces will start getting numb."
Leptich said frigid Arctic air was driving the temperatures downward, and said similar cold snaps were felt last winter as well.
"It's January, and this is the time of year when we see this," she said.
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Most schools and businesses are closed here today...but it's still a great day to get outside and enjoy the weather!
Source: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...d=519&ncid=716
A fast-moving winter storm packing fierce winds, frigid temperatures and snow pounded the East on Thursday, causing fender-benders and travel woes as well as dangerous cold.
A cold snap retained its grip on the Northeast, where high temperatures remained in the single digits and teens. A wind chill of minus-46 degrees was recorded in Watertown, N.Y., with an early morning low temperature of 31 below zero.
The heaviest snow fell from Minnesota to Michigan where up to 9 inches was reported. Strong winds produced blizzard-like conditions in parts of the Great Lakes and Upper-Midwest. Portions of Michigan were already buried in up to 10 inches of snow from a previous storm.
The heaviest snow Wednesday fell in Detroit's far northern suburbs — 10 inches in Genesee, Lapeer and northern Oakland counties. Lesser amounts still posed problems, causing dozens of fender-benders and spinout accidents on Detroit-area freeways.
"I'm brushing as much snow out of my eyes as I am off my car," said Layla Abdul-Rahman, 32, of Dearborn. "This would be a good time to buy a ticket back to Lebanon," where she is from.
U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt (news - web sites) of Missouri, a candidate in Michigan's Feb. 7 Democratic presidential caucuses, was scheduled to hold a town hall meeting in Burton Wednesday. But the storm prevented his plane from landing at Bishop International Airport in nearby Flint. After circling Bishop for 45 minutes, his plane headed for Grand Rapids, where he attended a 6 p.m. rally.
In New Jersey, dozens of spinouts and fender-benders were reported early Thursday as motorists slowly made their way across snow-covered roads and icy bridges. The snow was expected to taper off during the morning commute, but blowing and drifting snow was possible for most of Thursday.
"It's the light fluffy kind of snow (and) should be easy for people to move around," said Mark DeLisi, a forecaster with the weather service's Mount Holly, N.J., office.
The bitter cold continued to cause problems for New Jersey residents and motorists, and temperatures were not expected to exceed the freezing mark until sometime this weekend. Public Service Electric & Gas, the state's largest utility, said service calls have more than doubled during the cold spell.
About 3 1/2 inches of snow had been measured in New York's Central Park by just before 1 a.m., and light to moderate snow could continue through the overnight hours, according to National Weather Service (news - web sites) meteorologist Mike Silva.
The coldest temperatures in New York City were expected after the snow stops, with winds picking up so much that the wind chill Thursday night was expected to be about 20 degrees below zero.
Anyone outside unprotected in the low temperatures will "realize it in about five minutes," said National Weather Service meteorologist Adrienne Leptich. "Their faces will start getting numb."
Leptich said frigid Arctic air was driving the temperatures downward, and said similar cold snaps were felt last winter as well.
"It's January, and this is the time of year when we see this," she said.
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Most schools and businesses are closed here today...but it's still a great day to get outside and enjoy the weather!
We haven't had this much national media coverage since the deadly chopper crash in March... 
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