Storm dumps more than a foot of snow in Northeast

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA

A swirling storm clobbered parts of the mid- Atlantic and the urban Northeast on Tuesday, dumping a foot or more of snow, grounding thousands of flights, closing government offices in the nation’s capital and making a mess of the evening commute.

The storm stretched 1,000 miles between Kentucky and Massachusetts but hit especially hard along the heavily populated Interstate 95 corridor between Philadelphia and Boston, creating perilous rides home for millions of motorists.

The National Weather Service said Manalapan, N.J., got 13 inches of snow and Philadelphia got a foot. It said parts of New York City had 10 inches.

The snow came down harder and faster than many people expected. A blizzard warning was posted for parts of Massachusetts, including Cape Cod.

Highways in the New York City metropolitan area were jammed, and blowing snow tripled or even quadrupled drive times.

Forecasters said the storm could bring up to 14 inches of snow to Philadelphia and southern New England and up to a foot in New York City, to be followed by bitter cold as arctic air from Canada streams in. Washington was expecting 4 to 8 inches.