Bouncing Back From A Blizzard

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

January 1, 1999 / 10:39 AM EST / CBS

In Chicago, Monday is a day for digging out. The Windy City became a snowbound city after its biggest storm in three decades. A total of 21.6 inches of snow fell at O'Hare International Airport from Friday through early Sunday, the biggest total for a single storm since 23 inches fell during a blizzard in 1967.

People throughout the Midwest are dealing with the huge snowstorm that shut down many airlines and roads over the weekend. Stranded travelers are hoping that Monday is the day they can get home.

CBS News Correspondent Jim Axelrod reports that, on Monday morning, Chicago was bitter cold, zero on the thermometer and 25 to 40 degrees below zero with the wind-chill factor.

But the bitter cold wasn't about to shut things down in Chicago. Residents used everything to clear the sidewalks - snowblowers, shovels, buckets, and even a salad bowl. And a miraculous effort by the operators of more than 600 city trucks had every city road cleared Monday morning.

Said one city worker, "It's a big accomplishment. It's a big city, and it makes you feel good, especially when you see traffic rolling again."

Check the Forecast

Even in the midst of the blizzard, O'Hare International Airport never completely shut down. Most flights were canceled, and the ripple effect made for delays and stranded passengers at airports across the U.S. The major carriers at O'Hare reported operational levels at 50 to 60 percent Monday morning, and expected that to improve over the next 72 hours. Once things settle down at O'Hare, flights should unclog at other U.S. airports.

There's no school in Chicago Monday, but busses and trains are running. Officials seem pleased with the way the weekend went, but they have no time to pat themselves on the back. More snow is forecast for Wednesday.

A total of 39 deaths are being blamed on the winter weather nationwide.

Car crushed in Virginia pileup (CBS)

The brutal winter weather also had a grip on the East Coast. Freezing rain and ice storms created dangerous driving conditions from Maine to South Carolina. In Virginia, an ice-slicked highway is being blamed for a 16-car pileup that killed four people Sunday. Ice was also blamed for a 50-car pileup on New York's Grand Central Parkway and a 23-vehicle chain-reaction wreck on I-80 in New Jersey.

The snowstorm mutated into sleet and rain as it moved over much of the east. More tha2.4 inches of rain fell Sunday in New York City's Central Park, breaking the record of 1.41 inches for the date set in 1936. Bridgeport, Conn., set a record with 2 inches of rain, and Plymouth, Mass., picked up about 4.75 inches.

More than 450,000 electricity customers across the eastern half of the country lost power at some point during the storm, with the worst of the outages still being felt overnight in the Carolinas.

"This is a biggie," said Jeremy Dreier, a spokesman for Duke Energy Co. of North Carolina, which reported 26,000 customers without power Sunday night.

Freezing rain cut power for almost a quarter of a million utility customers across South Carolina, and roughly 137,000 were still in the dark Sunday night. Duke Energy said it could be Tuesday before all power is restored.

CBS This Morning Meteorologist Craig Allen reports that as the fierce storm worked its way into the warm air in Florida, it churned up tornadoes and waterspouts (straight-line 80-mph winds coming out of the thunderstorms), ravaging trailers and even overturning small planes at local airports.