200K without power in Pa., 6 dead after storm

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The massive late-October snow storm that dumped more than a foot of snow in some parts of Pennsylvania is being blamed for at least six deaths in the commonwealth, where more than 200,000 customers were without power three days after flakes started falling — and could still be in the dark until the middle of the week.

School districts in a swath of central and northeastern Pennsylvania closed this morning as residents dug out from an unusually early pre-Halloween snow storm. Some closures could be attributed to power problems, particularly in the Lehigh Valley, where PPL Corp. reported a large number of its 120,000 outages.

In Allentown, downed tree branches littered countless yards and residents girded for a potentially long haul without power.

Anne Warschauer, a 91-year-old Holocaust survivor from Germany, refused to leave her home on a quiet tree-lined street in Allentown even though the temperature inside had plummeted. “I’m freezing,” she acknowledged. But she said she worried about her beloved cat, Pumpkin.

“They’re not going to get the power back on until Thursday, Anne. You can’t stay here,” said her friend, 63-year-old Emma Saylor.