Deadly Winter Storm Slams Northeast

Roads Hazardous As Snow, Sleet, Freezing Rain Covers New England

(CBS/AP)  Motorists slid off roads Sunday across the Great Lakes states into New England as a storm already blamed for three deaths cut visibility and iced over highways with a wind-blown brew of snow, sleet and freezing rain.

The National Weather Service posted winter storm warnings from Michigan and Indiana all the way to Maine. Nearly a foot of snow had fallen on the Chicago area and 10 inches in parts of Michigan and Vermont. Meteorologists said 18 inches was possible in northern New England and there was a chance of up to 14 inches in parts of Michigan.

"Our biggest advice right now is stay home," said Maine State Police Sgt. Andrew Donovan. Visibility in the blowing snow was less than 200 yards, and in stronger gusts "if there's a car in front of you, you can't even see it," he said.

Every available plow truck was at work in Vermont, said Reggie Brown, highway department dispatcher in Montpelier. "Everybody's out and running," he said. Illinois Department of Transportation spokesman Mike Claffey said 1,000 trucks were out clearing snow Sunday.

Snow depths in some places were uncertain. "They can't tell how much because it's blowing so hard," Brown said.

The storm canceled hundreds of flights at airports in Chicago, where Midway Airport measured 10 inches of snow Sunday morning. In Maine, most of Portland International Jetport's inbound and outbound flights were canceled, said city Transportation Director Jeff Monroe. Numerous flights were canceled at Buffalo Niagara International Airport.

Many churches called off Sunday services because of the hazardous driving conditions.

"I don't want folks to venture out because we're having church and they feel obligated," the Rev. Glenn Mortimer said after calling off services at Wakefield-Lynnfield United Methodist Church in Wakefield, Mass. He noted that some people still hadn't completely dug out from Thursday's storm that dumped more than a foot of snow on parts of Massachusetts.

Both Eastern Michigan University and the University of Connecticut postponed winter commencement ceremonies scheduled for Sunday.

The storm didn't keep fans away from the New England Patriots vs. New York Jets game at Foxborough, Mass., but they had to shovel off their seats in the stadium. A video of a fire roaring in a fireplace was shown on the scoreboards at both ends of the field.

And in Buffalo, N.Y., the weather didn't deter Bills fans who rose early for a bus trip to Cleveland for a game against the Browns. "Rain, snow, sleet, whatever, we'll be there," Brian Kras said, boarding a chartered bus at 5:30 a.m.

The storm also didn't stand in the way of dedicated Christmas shoppers.

"The reason we came out in the storm early, early, is that we knew there would be no lines," Michael McGrath, 48, of Boston, said as he stomped along partly shoveled downtown sidewalks. "It was true. The stores were empty."

Betty Gould and Rocky Castellano drove about 20 miles from Pittsfield, N.H., to Steeplegate Mall in Concord, N.H. Asked if she considered staying home, Gould said: "Never."

"We like the snow," Gould said. "He thinks he's invincible. He has four-wheel drive, studded tires, the whole bit."

Instead of church, Paul Milner of Chittenango, N.Y., went to a neighborhood grocery market to stock up.

"The roads weren't bad. But they say there's more on the way. Guess that shouldn't be any surprise in upstate New York in mid-December," he said.

Slippery roads were blamed for two traffic deaths in Michigan and one in Wisconsin.

Icy roads were blamed for the deaths of a mother and her three daughters in Indiana - at least seven deaths in all through the Midwest, reports CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker. Near blizzard conditions caused blackouts in Pennsylvania, and flight delays and cancellations across the region.

More than 100,000 customers were blacked out Sunday in parts of Pennsylvania, utilities reported. Scattered outages caused by heavy snow and freezing rain also were reported in Vermont, state officials said.

The storm came less than a week after an ice storm blamed for at least 38 deaths, mostly in traffic accidents, in the middle of the country. Thousands of homes and business still had no electricity in parts of Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri.

Some took advantage of the weekend storm to make a few extra dollars.

Marcelo Rodrigues was supervising a 15-man snow shoveling crew outside of an office building in downtown Boston. Rodriques said the crews arrived in town at 4 a.m.

"They make good money," he said.

[drinuk]

India and China will do absolutely Nothing to cut their emissions - America should do exactly the same.

The whole concept of Global Warming is a scam, if it were genuine Gore would not be flying around the world charging $100,000 for a twenty minute tirade, he would do it for free.

[ubrew12]

monkfellow said: "I guess this is the "global warming" all the...delegates... are so concerned about..COMMUNISTS ALL!"

Either that... or its December...

[airport1207]

We have seen Unprecedented signs of global waalking across the world......I wonder when human beings will become extinct...

[monkfellow]

Oh, yeah...
I guess this is the "global warming" all the overfed delegates sunning themselves at their four-star hotels in Bali are so concerned about..
LIARS, HYPOCRITES, AND COMMUNISTS ALL!