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Storm that slugged South, Midwest brings misery to Northeast

By David Sharp, Kathleen Foody And Jill Bleed
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A major winter storm spread misery from the Deep South, where ice-covered tree limbs snapped and a tornado claimed a life, to the nation’s northeastern tip where snow and ice caused havoc for travelers on Friday. Hundreds of thousands were without electricity.

More than a foot (30 centimeters) of snow fell in parts Pennsylvania, New York and New England but there were bigger worries about roads and sidewalks freezing over because of plummeting temperatures after the snow blows out to sea late Friday and Saturday.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned residents to stay home if possible to avoid ice-coated roadways and the threat of falling tree limbs in the Hudson Valley and Capital regions.

“We’re not out of the danger zone yet,” Hochul said. “The weather is wildly unpredictable.”

Utility crews were making progress after about 350,000 homes and businesses were in the dark in an area stretching from Texas to Ohio. Additional power outages were reported in New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Tragedy also struck western Alabama, where a tornado on Thursday killed one person and critically injured three others, Hale County Emergency Management Director Russell Weeden told local news outlets.

Airlines scrubbed about 3,400 flights by midday Friday, with the highest numbers of cancellations at Dallas-Fort Worth and airports in the New York City area and Boston, according to tracking service FlightAware.

Slippery roads caused scores of vehicles to slide off roads, even before anticipated deteriorating conditions during the evening rush hour.

Massachusetts State Police responded to more than 200 crashes with property damage or injuries, including one fatal crash, starting Thursday evening, officials said.

In the Pittsburgh area, commuter rail service was halted when a power line went down, trapping cars at a Port Authority of Allegheny County rail yard.

In New York’s Hudson Valley, the Catskill Animal Sanctuary was relying on generators for power Friday after the overnight ice storm.

“We had trees down all over the property and trees down on our road,” said Kathy Stevens, founder of the refuge for rescued farm animals.

In New England, some places welcomed the winter weather, which was a boon for skiers and snowmobilers.

In Vermont, no one was complaining at the Stowe Mountain Resort where skiers and snowboarders reported some of the best conditions of the season, with more than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snow overnight, and snow continuing to fall.

“We’re just having a blast, the sauce is flowing,” said Jared Marshall, of Denmark, Maine, a member of the ski team of New Hampshire’s Colby Sawyer College in town for a ski meet.

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