SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn. -- Thousands
of schoolchildren around the Northeast had one of the earliest snow days in
memory Monday after a storm dumped as much as 30 inches of wet, heavy snow that
snapped trees and power lines, caused widespread power failures and threatened
to disrupt Halloween trick-or-treating.
Communities from Maryland to Maine that suffered through a tough
winter last year followed by a series of floods and storms went into
now-familiar emergency mode as shelters opened, inaccessible roads closed,
regional transit was suspended or delayed, and local leaders urged caution.
The storm's lingering effects likely will outlast the snow.
Temperatures are expected to begin rising Monday and the heavy, wet snow will
start melting, the National Weather Service said.
The unseasonably early nor'easter had utility companies struggling
to restore electricity to more than 3 million homes and businesses. By early
Monday, the number of customers without power was still above 2 million but falling.
But officials in some states warned it could be days or even a week before
residents have power again, even though crews have been brought in from as far
away as Michigan and Canada.
"We are in full restoration mode," said Marcy Reed,
president of National Grid Massachusetts.
Trees, branches and power lines still littered roads and rail
lines throughout the region, leading to a tough Monday morning commute for
many. Some local officials canceled or postponed Halloween activities, fearful
that young trick-or-treaters could wander into areas with downed power lines or
trees ready to topple over.
"With so many wires down ... the sidewalks will not be safe
for pedestrians (Monday) night," Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton told The
Hartford Courant.
A weekend that should have brought activity no more strenuous than
raking colorful autumn leaves left Northeasterners weather-weary.
"You had this storm, you had Hurricane Irene, you had the
flooding last spring and you had the nasty storms last winter," Tom
Jacobsen said Sunday while getting coffee at a convenience store in Hamilton
Township, N.J. "I'm starting to think we really ticked off Mother Nature
somehow because we've been getting spanked by her for about a year now."
In New Jersey, Gov. Chris
Christie declared the damage to utilities worse than that wrought by Irene, a
deadly storm that blew through the state in August. Things were similar in
Connecticut, where the power loss of 800,000 broke a record set by Irene. By
early Monday, around 400,000 people lacked power in New Jersey and more than
750,000 in Connecticut.
The
snowstorm smashed record snowfall totals for October and worsened as it moved
north. Communities in western Massachusetts were among the hardest hit.
Snowfall totals topped 27 inches in Plainfield, and nearby Windsor got 26
inches. The snowstorm was blamed for at least 12 deaths, and states of
emergency were declared in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and parts of
New York.
"Look
at this, look at all the damage," said Jennifer Burckson, 49, after she
came outside Sunday morning in South Windsor to find a massive tree branch had
smashed her car's back windshield. Trees in the neighborhood snapped in half,
with others weighed down so much that the leaves brushed the snow.
Compounding
the storm's impact were still-leafy trees, which gave the snow something to
hang onto and that put tremendous weight on branches, said National Weather
Service spokesman Chris Vaccaro. That led to limbs breaking off and contributed
to the widespread power failures.
"This
is not going to be a quick fix," said Peter Judge, a Massachusetts
emergency management official.
The
severity of the storm caught many by surprise, and it disrupted Halloween
plans, too.
Sharon
Martovich of Southbury, Conn., who was grocery shopping Sunday morning in
nearby Newtown at one of the few businesses open for miles, said she's hoping
the power will come back on in time for her husband's Halloween tradition of
playing "Young Frankenstein" on a giant screen in front of their
house.
"We
would be really sad and it would disappoint a lot of people if we can't play
`Young Frankenstein,'" she said. But no matter what, they will make sure
the eight or so children who live in the neighborhood don't miss out on
trick-or-treating.
"Either
way we will get the giant flashlights and we will go," she said.
She
was already making the best of the power failure. After the lights went out
around 4 p.m. Saturday, she invited neighbors over for an impromptu Halloween
party with wine and quesadillas in front of her propane fireplace.
Around
Newtown, snow-laden branches were snapping off trees every few minutes, and
roads that were plowed became impassible because the trees were falling so
fast.
Along
the coast and in such cities as Boston, the relatively warm ocean helped keep
snowfall totals much lower. Washington received a trace of snow, tying a 1925
record for the date. New York City's Central Park set a record for both the
date and for October with 1.3 inches.
But
in New Hampshire's capital of Concord, more than 22 inches fell, weeks ahead of
the usual first measurable snowfall. West Milford, N.J., about 45 miles
northwest of New York City, had 19 inches by early Sunday.
Rail
service was getting back up to speed across the region, though delays were
expected. Amtrak had suspended service on several routes, and one train from
Chicago to Boston got stuck overnight in Palmer, Mass. The 48 passengers had
food and heat, a spokeswoman said, and were taken by bus Sunday to their
destinations.
North
of New York City, dozens of motorists were rescued by state troopers after
spending up to 10 hours stranded on snow-covered highways in Dutchess and
Putnam counties.
Deaths
blamed on the storm included an 84-year-old Pennsylvania man killed by a tree
that fell on his home, a person who died in a traffic accident in Colchester,
Conn., and a 20-year-old man who was electrocuted in Springfield, Mass.
