Storm takes heavy toll in NE, Midwest

Associated Press

BOSTON

Homeowners and motorists dug out across the white-blanketed Northeast on Friday as extreme cold ushered in by the storm threatened fingers and toes but kept the snow powdery and mercifully easy to shovel. At least 16 deaths were linked to the storm as it swept across the nation’s eastern half.

While the snowfall had all but stopped by morning across the hard-hit Philadelphia-to-Boston corridor and many highways and streets were soon plowed and reopened, temperatures were in the single digits and teens, with wind chills well below zero.

Temperatures started in single digits Friday, with wind chills well below zero in much of the East and in Ohio. Authorities said at least two people were killed in weather-related crashes near Cleveland and Toledo as the storm dumped 8 to 10 inches of snow on parts of northern Ohio. The storm ended by Friday morning but left bitter cold and icy roads.

Jaycie Fullwood braved the weather Friday to operate a hot dog stand in downtown Cincinnati. She was bundled up in five pairs of pants, five sweaters, a hat and heavy scarf, lined boots and two pairs of gloves. Fullwood sometimes works extra on the weekend, but not this day.

“I’m staying home and keeping warm,” said the 20-year-old Fullwood, of nearby Dayton, Ky.

Officials from the Midwest to New England are preparing for another arctic blast in the next few days that could be even worse.

The heaviest snow fell north of Boston in Boxford, which received nearly 2 feet. Nearly 18 inches fell in Boston and in western New York near Rochester. Lakewood, N.J., got 10 inches, and New York’s Central Park 6. Philadelphia got more than 6 inches.

Temperatures reached 8 below zero in Burlington, Vt., with a wind chill of 29 below, and 2 degrees in Boston. Wind chills there and in Providence, R.I., made it feel like minus-20 Friday morning, and the forecast called for more of the same into Saturday.

Emergency officials warned that anyone spending more than a few minutes outdoors in such conditions could suffer frostbite.

Wellington Ferreira said the cold was worse than the snow as he cleared a sidewalk in front of Johnny D’s Uptown Restaurant and Music Club in Somerville.

“My ears are frozen,” he said.

Warming centers opened around the region, homeless shelters received more people, and cities took special measures to look after those most vulnerable to the cold. Teams in New York City searched the streets for homeless people, while in Boston police asked residents to call 911 if they saw someone in need.

The light, powdery snow was a blessing in another respect: It did not weigh down electrical lines or tree limbs, and as a result there were only a few thousand power outages across the Northeast.

Slick roads were blamed for several traffic deaths. In addition, a 71-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s disease froze to death after she wandered away from her rural western New York home. Officials in Minnesota and Wisconsin said deaths there were also linked to the cold. And a worker in Philadelphia was killed when a 100-foot-high pile of road salt fell and crushed him.