Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Associated Press
NEW YORK
A blustery late-season storm plastered the Northeast with sleet and snow Tuesday, paralyzing much of the Washington-to-Boston corridor but falling well short of the predicted snow totals in New York, Boston and Philadelphia.
The powerful nor’easter, which came after a stretch of unusually mild winter weather that had people thinking spring was already here, unloaded 1 to 2 feet in many places inland, grounded more than 6,000 flights and knocked out power to nearly a quarter-million customers from Virginia northward.
By the time it reached Massachusetts, it had turned into a blizzard, with near hurricane-force wind gusting over 70 mph along the coast and waves crashing over the seawalls. Boston ended up with 6.6 inches of snow, less than the predictions of up to a foot.
It was easily the biggest storm in a merciful winter that had mostly spared the Northeast, and many weren’t happy about it.
“It’s horrible,” said retired gumball-machine technician Don Zimmerman, of Lemoyne, Pa., using a snowblower to clear the sidewalk along his block. “I thought winter was out of here. ... It’s a real kick in the rear.”
Police said a 16-year-old girl was killed when she lost control of her car on a snowy road and hit a tree in Gilford, N.H. In East Hartford, Conn., an elderly man died after being struck by a snowplow.