Winter Weather Wallops U.S.

Snow, Ice, Freezing Wind Snarl Travel And Leave Parts Of The Country Snowbound

(CBS/AP)  The weather outside was frightful from Portland, Maine, to Portland, Ore., on Monday, with last-minute holiday shoppers shivering and stranded travelers hoping for the best as Christmas rapidly approached.

The little town of Eustis, Maine, got nearly 3½ feet of snow.

In Marysville, Wash., north of Seattle, heavy snow collapsed part of the roof Monday at the Whitley Evergreen factory, which makes modular buildings. No one was injured, but inspectors were dispatched to make sure other buildings in the business park were safe.

The 14.5-inch snowfall Sunday in Portland, Maine, surpassed the old record for Dec. 21 of 12.4 inches, set in 1933.

Residents of Fitchburg, Mass., may have been hit hardest, CBS News Weather Anchor Dave Price reports. People there woke up to more snow this morning and another day without power, after an ice storm knocked out electricity 11 days ago.

"You couldn't get more frustrated than me," says Joan Marie Joyce who's lived here for three decades. "This is the worse I ever had."

Across much of the West, from Washington state to Arizona, a brutal storm has now covered the region in as much as 29 inches of snow. Blizzard-like conditions, which are rare in places like Seattle forced workers to carefully remove snow and icicles from the Space Needle.

To the south, a total of 11 to 13 inches in Portland, Ore., was the biggest snowfall since January 1980. Depending on how much more fell Monday as the snow trailed off, the storm could rank as one of the city's 10 worst on record.

"It is amazing," said Dave Thompson, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation. "You say to yourself: 'That's Portland?' The roads are snowpacked, covered with ice and it's freezing rain."

Kim Osgood, who owns Paloma Clothing in the Hillsdale Shopping Center in southwest Portland, served hot cocoa on Sunday and gave away $24 crampons - foot gear for ice and snow climbs - to anyone spending $50 in her store.

"This is the worst Christmas I have ever seen in 33 years," Osgood said. "The good news here is for shoppers. If they can get out, they'll get amazing bargains."

Temperatures in Chicago - hard hit over the weekend with subzero readings as winter officially began - were up to the single digits Monday and could rise to the mid-20s Tuesday. But that should coincide with several inches of snowfall Tuesday and Wednesday, forecasters said.

Snowfall was relatively scant in the Midwest and East, but high winds whipped up snow along roadways and, along with ice, made driving hazardous for holiday travelers.

In western New York, a 134-mile stretch of the state Thruway between Buffalo and Pennsylvania was closed for six hours overnight because of blowing snow. In Pittsburgh, schools were initially to open two hours late but were closed for the day instead because of below-zero wind chills.

[questionnews]

Must be a nice position to take for the MMGW crowd.

If it gets really hot, it''s because of MMGW.
If it gets really cold, it''s because of MMGW.

No wonder people are jumping on board with this theory. With this kind of standard no matter the evidence, they will always be right. It''s the easiest & least risky position to take. Simply brilliant!!!
Al Gore is fricken a genius. You can bet I''ll be investing heavily in the carbon credit industry. Lots on money to be made there!!

an increase in the average temperature of the earth''s atmosphere (especially a sustained increase that causes climatic changes). See where is says "climatic changes" Read a book, maybe you''ll learn something.

jowand, you''re kidding right? Guess you need a lesson on the definition of global warming.

[jowand]

What have YOU done to prevent or slow down global warming? You think it is up to a president to do something? Get off of your fat butts and do something about it yourself, instead of always pointing fingers at someone else. This country has turned into a bunch of cry babies, God help us...

Posted by mitchoncbs at 09:37 AM : Dec 23, 2008

Global warming is over, since 1998, global cooling is here what are you doing to warm things up?

[jt_lancer]

Where is that *** global warming when you need it?

[barbaram99]

I am a Mainer by birth and grew up there . My senior parents are still there as are family. I am 54. Years ago it knowed and it stayed on the ground all winter. Sure it got cold. We shoved the bloody snow. Made snowmen,snowforts,and yep had snow ball fights. It was normal. We had rock salt,sand. We had the house winterised. We had lots of blankets ,warm clothes, etc. In the late 80s is when it changed. So the snow is new to a bunch of people who have never grown up with it. It is pretty. The thing is to be safe and be careful in it.
My friend would tell me, ye don''t need this/thar here in Seattle. I told him yep as ye never know. I wanted a really warm coat and warm boots. Combat boots are not warm. I wear them as my ankles needs the high tops. I have lived in cold Maine winters and I mean cold. It is the wind chill I hate. It is the ice/black ice that is a problem. Try to have a nice Chrismas. I will be here at home.

wvu7462, that''s what I thought, will sit and whine and cry about someone else not doing anything about it, but God forbid you doing anything to help prevent it. You are, like a lot of other morons a cause to the problem and not an answer....

wvu7462, you are corect, I am Not doing much about global warming, but doing things to help prevent it form my side.

drive a lot less, don''t let my car sit and run to warm up before I leave for work. Recycle my trash...went from a gas heater to an electric induction heating system. I opted for Wind Power from my electrical company.....and you?

Everyone here sitting on their butts complaining on which president has done for global warming, you people are complete morons. What have YOU done to prevent or slow down global warming? You think it is up to a president to do something? Get off of your fat butts and do something about it yourself, instead of always pointing fingers at someone else. This country has turned into a bunch of cry babies, God help us...