Easter Bunny Bundles Up

Unusually Cold Just About Everywhere In U.S. East Of The Rockies

(CBS/AP)  In many areas of the country, spring snow and shivers are following a winter that was often unusually warm.

"We had Easter on December 25th. People had crocuses coming out and blooms on bushes. And now we have Christmas, with all this snow," said meteorologist Butch Roberts of the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine. "It's a little topsy-turvy sometimes."

Maine baseball fans shared in the misery as the Portland Sea Dogs season opener was postponed for at least a day, but the team made the best of it, dotting the field with 11 snowmen in jerseys and caps - nine players, a batter and an ump. It was the second time since 1994 that opening day was delayed by late snow.

In Manchester, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats canceled Thursday night's home opener but put out the call for fans to help clear the turf for a Friday game. Volunteers who show up with shovels get free tickets.

The 24 inches that fell in Negaunee Township, Mich. broke a 1974 record of 12 inches, said meteorologist Jason Alumbaugh. The cold weather forced postponement of Thursday's baseball game at Comerica Park between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Detroit Tigers.

Snowfall in April is not unusual, but the volume of snow in this storm is relatively rare. The 11.6 inches on the ground in Portland, Maine, tied a record for its fifth-biggest April snowfall.

Jon Blanchard, spending his first night back in Portland after a winter in Florida, was awakened Thursday by the sound of tree limbs snapping under the weight of the heavy snow.

He put aside plans of unloading his camper and fired up his snow blower instead.

"I hate it," Blanchard said. "That's why I spent the whole winter in Florida."

The weighed-down trees and limbs also felled power lines. About 100,000 homes and businesses lost power in Maine, in and around Alfred, Brunswick and Portland; another 81,000 customers were in the dark in New Hampshire, and Vermont had about 1,300 outages.

Outages could continue as snow melts and more trees fall, utilities said, and a spokesman in Maine said many customers there would be in the dark into Friday.

The heavy, wet snow clogged roads early Thursday, prompting school officials to cancel or delay classes around the region.

The Red Cross had to cancel several blood drives in northern New England, and issued a plea for donations.

A man was killed in New Hampshire when his car ran off Interstate 93 and hit a tree during the storm Wednesday night on the Canterbury-Concord line, state police said.

A tractor-trailer carrying oxygen bottles skidded and rolled over Wednesday night on the Everett Turnpike in Merrimack. Bottles rolled out, and it took crews all night to clear the road, though none of the bottles broke. The driver was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

Cars were also reported off the road in Maine, and police said a 17-year-old girl's death Wednesday on a slippery road in Topsham may have been weather-related.

At ski areas, the snow was a welcome lift.

"It's going to help us close the season strong," said Chris Lenois, a spokesman for Vermont's Mount Snow, which ends its season on Sunday. About 6 inches fell in West Dover.

[urbanblue]

Quite right midashand. i should count myself among the sterile. The scary thing is that it still makes me 10 times smarter than the avg Global warming fanatic

[midashand]

Bahaha! "preserve the spices" oh my... I know it is a simple mistake but that made my day... heheh

[urbanblue]

Global Warming is now an industry and no longer science. If you still believe global warming is nothing more than an economic attempt to level the playing field, then please, please get yourself sterilized so that we can preserve the spices.

[frank3108]

TO NORDECK 52, IT WAS SARCASM FOR ALL THE LIBERALS WHO BLAME BUSH FOR EVERYTHING INCLUDING THE BIG 05 HURRICANE SEASON SORRY I HAD TO EXPLAIN THAT FOR YOU.

[tucson23]

If you're stupid enough to confuse "weather" with "climate," it's no surprise you would believe politicians over scientists when it comes to global warming. I hope you are enjoying your thousands of shares of energy company stock (oh wait, you're poor? Then why are you all so hell bent to protect polluters? Oh wait, you're stupid, I almost forgot).

[midashand]

Very true, unfortunately. _

[nordeck52]

I hope so, midashand, but you never can tell anymore. :P

[midashand]

Uhm nordeck, I think he was joking..... :P

you know, sarcasm....

[apetrelli]

The reason it's relevant to talk about Global Warming and Bush, etc., here is that *every* bloody article mentioning an Indian summer, warm day in Winter, unusual seasonal averages on the upside talks about Global Warming, as if it's confirmatory. For balance, it's fair to cite this as counterevidence.

Yes, the truth is that neither unseasonably warm or cold weather in one place or region is relevant at all to Global Warming. But is only one side supposed to follow the rules?

I thought Global Warming scaremongerers had science on their side? Why aren't they debunking all the claims that warm weather patterns are confirmatory?

[moronpolitics]

Global Warming? Right, 35 degrees in Dallas on Easter Weekend. George Bush better stop right now!! And.... The solution is easy. Ever throw the whole five pounds of bacon into a frying pan? Even though it was hot, maybe too hot, that's just too much bacon and it COOLS the pan. Now, the sun is bigger than a frying pan, BUT ( yes, that's a great big BUT ) if we took Rosie and shot her into the sun.......AND it would lower carbon dioxide and methane emissions.

[Rocadero]

The most glaring omission in this article is the absence of any mention of Global Warming. Preacherbob1, you bought into the foolishness hook, line and sinker. How will these unusual "cold snaps" ever melt the artic ice and make the sea levels rise? Global warming is such a preposterous joke (theory) that it can be completely defeated by 5th grade science. Do yourself a favor, fill a glass with water and put in some ice cubes, then mark the water level and let the ice melt. Then report how much higher or lower the water is. The answer is, it will be exactly the same. Why? Because water "expands" when it freezes. The ice displaces the water but is the same weight whether frozen or metled. Think people!!!!

[nordeck52]

Sorry about the double post... .

[nordeck52]

Uhh.... exactly what does this story have to do with Bush? What does it have to do with Washington? Nothing! I see no mention of either in the article, even indirectly, thus, this article has nothing to do with them! Also, do you really think that some pathetic missile could cause flare-ups on the Sun? First off, the Sun is WAY too huge for a MUCH smaller missile to have much effect, and secondly, even if it did have the power to affect the Sun, the intense heat/temperature would likely vaporize the missile before it landed. Know your basics before you make such accusations.

[nordeck52]

Uhh.... exactly what does this story have to do with Bush? What does it have to do with Washington? Nothing! I see no mention of either in the article, even indirectly, thus, this article has nothing to do with them! Also, do you really think that some pathetic missile could cause flare-ups on the Sun? First off, the Sun is WAY too huge for a MUCH smaller missile to have much effect, and secondly, even if it did have the power to affect the Sun, the intense heat/temperature would likely vaporize the missile before it landed. Know your basics before you make such accusations.

[frank3108]

OF COURSE THIS IS THE FAULT OF BUSH. DON'T YOU PEOPLE KNOW HE CAN NOT ONLY CAUSE GLOBAL WARMING AND HURRICANS, (HE STOPPED THEM LAST FOR THE ELECTION) AND IT DIDN'T HELP BUT HE CAN ALSO CAUSE THESE EXTREME COLD SNAPS. I HEARD HE'S FIRING OLD MINUTE MAN MISSLES INTO THE SUN TO CAUSE FLARE-UPS WHICH WILL FLOOD THE COASTS (THATS WHERE ALL THE LIBERALS LIVE) SO HE CAN TAKE OVER THE WORLD.AL PLEASE RUN FOR PRESIDENT AND SAVE US!!!!!

[robrob791]

Where oh where is big Al when he is needed most????????/

[harrygett]

"... so all weather patterns become more extreme or unpredictable."

Except of course for GW itself. We *KNOW* (because the orthodoxy tells us so) not only that it's going to heat up, and that my home will be beach front property one day (can't wait - woo hoo!), but that it's also man made. And of course that man is Jergins "Bunnyboy" Toothfairy in Tennessee.

I say - get Jergins and the problem will be solved. Of course, I'll have to give up my beach front property, but anything for the cause.

Harry

[rray52]

My procrastination is justified, I now have a excuse for not starting the garden yet.

[msmithdznr]

preacherbob1
you need to do your homework. Global warming is a bit of a deceiving term. As the earth warms, and the composition of the oceans change. They become less salty and the temperature changes. This change effects weather patterns of all sorts. So unusually cold weather can be seen as a part of what is called global warming. The ocean controls our weather so all weather patterns become more extreme or unpredictable.

[preacherbob1]

Its that global cooling we been hearing about!