Official: 'The blowing and drifting could cause problems'

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Snow blanketed the Northeast on Friday night, causing
traffic accidents and airport delays -- and forecasters warned a full-blown
nor'easter would sweep through Saturday, dumping as much as 18 inches of
snow.

Visibility was down to a quarter-mile in parts of New England as winds and
snow made driving conditions treacherous.

In Connecticut, traffic accidents were widespread Friday, with a portion of
I-95 shut down during rush hour. Authorities urged residents to limit travel
Saturday.

Winds were expected to be 15-20 mph Saturday, with gusts as high as 40 mph.

"We're hoping people take caution," said Julie Bisi, a spokeswoman for
Connecticut's emergency management office. "The blowing and drifting could
cause problems."

Forecasters said the height of the storm is expected to come at midday
Saturday. Snow totals are predicted to be 10-18 inches.

"The nor'easter has yet to crank up," National Weather Service meteorologist
Kimberly Buttrick said Friday night from Taunton, Massachusetts. "This is
just the beginning."

The snow and low clouds were wreaking havoc on air travel in the Northeast,
with the worst delays for some incoming flights running close to 15 hours.
Ground stops were in effect late Friday at Newark International Airport in
New Jersey, Philadelphia International Airport in Pennsylvania, and
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Ohio. Ground stops were also
imposed in Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; and as far away as San
Francisco, California.

A ground stop means traffic at other airports bound for that destination is
not allowed to depart.

Winter storm warnings were in effect from eastern Ohio to Connecticut and
from West Virginia into Massachusetts. Freezing rain, sleet and snow from
the first storm blanketed parts of North Carolina, Virginia and West
Virginia and more is expected as the storm moves up the Atlantic coast.

Washington is expected to get 4-6 inches, and Philadelphia is bracing for
8-10 inches.

New York is expected to get at least 8-14 inches of snow. New York City has
200,000 tons of salt to be dispersed on roads, and 1,700 snowplows at the
ready.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said 3,000 city workers would be on
duty to make sure the city's 6,000 miles of roads stay clear.

"This is snow that we know how to take care of; we have a well-trained work
force; they've got the right equipment," he said in a news conference Friday
night.

Bloomberg said the roads were fine, but when the storm blows in Saturday,
conditions could be bad.

"The winds are forecast to be very strong, really blizzard conditions,
that's when you'll have to worry about trees coming down, power lines," he
said.

The weather grounded President Bush's planned Marine One helicopter flight
to a re-election campaign luncheon in Baltimore, Maryland, where 6 inches of
snow by midmorning had clogged streets and slowed traffic.

Instead of the helicopter, the White House said the president would make the
45-mile trip by motorcade.

CNN; Friday, December 5, 2003 Posted: 11:09 PM EST (0409 GMT)

--
Viaene Björn
http://users.telenet.be/weathersite

__________________________________________

Here's a pic I took yesterday near Central Park.. boy did I pick a good time
to go to New York!

http://www.andrewhutchinson.net/mini-DSC00791.JPG

"Bjorn Viaene" wrote in message
...
Official: 'The blowing and drifting could cause problems'

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Snow blanketed the Northeast on Friday night, causing
traffic accidents and airport delays -- and forecasters warned a
full-blown
nor'easter would sweep through Saturday, dumping as much as 18 inches of
snow.

Visibility was down to a quarter-mile in parts of New England as winds and
snow made driving conditions treacherous.

In Connecticut, traffic accidents were widespread Friday, with a portion
of
I-95 shut down during rush hour. Authorities urged residents to limit
travel
Saturday.

Winds were expected to be 15-20 mph Saturday, with gusts as high as 40
mph.

"We're hoping people take caution," said Julie Bisi, a spokeswoman for
Connecticut's emergency management office. "The blowing and drifting could
cause problems."

Forecasters said the height of the storm is expected to come at midday
Saturday. Snow totals are predicted to be 10-18 inches.

"The nor'easter has yet to crank up," National Weather Service
meteorologist
Kimberly Buttrick said Friday night from Taunton, Massachusetts. "This is
just the beginning."

The snow and low clouds were wreaking havoc on air travel in the
Northeast,
with the worst delays for some incoming flights running close to 15 hours.
Ground stops were in effect late Friday at Newark International Airport in
New Jersey, Philadelphia International Airport in Pennsylvania, and
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Ohio. Ground stops were also
imposed in Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; and as far away as San
Francisco, California.

A ground stop means traffic at other airports bound for that destination
is
not allowed to depart.

Winter storm warnings were in effect from eastern Ohio to Connecticut and
from West Virginia into Massachusetts. Freezing rain, sleet and snow from
the first storm blanketed parts of North Carolina, Virginia and West
Virginia and more is expected as the storm moves up the Atlantic coast.

Washington is expected to get 4-6 inches, and Philadelphia is bracing for
8-10 inches.

New York is expected to get at least 8-14 inches of snow. New York City
has
200,000 tons of salt to be dispersed on roads, and 1,700 snowplows at the
ready.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said 3,000 city workers would be on
duty to make sure the city's 6,000 miles of roads stay clear.

"This is snow that we know how to take care of; we have a well-trained
work
force; they've got the right equipment," he said in a news conference
Friday
night.

Bloomberg said the roads were fine, but when the storm blows in Saturday,
conditions could be bad.

"The winds are forecast to be very strong, really blizzard conditions,
that's when you'll have to worry about trees coming down, power lines," he
said.

The weather grounded President Bush's planned Marine One helicopter flight
to a re-election campaign luncheon in Baltimore, Maryland, where 6 inches
of
snow by midmorning had clogged streets and slowed traffic.

Instead of the helicopter, the White House said the president would make
the
45-mile trip by motorcade.

CNN; Friday, December 5, 2003 Posted: 11:09 PM EST (0409 GMT)

--
Viaene Björn
http://users.telenet.be/weathersite

__________________________________________

Thanks for sharing that with us :-(

Keith (Southend)

********************************
'Weather Home & Abroad'
http://www.southendweather.net
********************************
COL Station for Southend-on-Sea
********************************
Reply to: kreh'at'southendweather'dot'net
All mail scanned for virus's using Norton 2003




On Sat, 6 Dec 2003 11:57:25 -0000, "InMyTree"
wrote:

Here's a pic I took yesterday near Central Park.. boy did I pick a good time
to go to New York!

http://www.andrewhutchinson.net/mini-DSC00791.JPG

In article ,
InMyTree writes:
Here's a pic I took yesterday near Central Park.. boy did I pick a good time
to go to New York!

http://www.andrewhutchinson.net/mini-DSC00791.JPG

Nice picture.
--
John Hall
"Acting is merely the art of keeping a large group of people
from coughing."
Sir Ralph Richardson (1902-83)

On Sat, 6 Dec 2003 11:57:25 -0000, "InMyTree"
wrote:

Here's a pic I took yesterday near Central Park.. boy did I pick a good time
to go to New York!

http://www.andrewhutchinson.net/mini-DSC00791.JPG

I'm jealous!

Which web cams have a good view of this storm, preferably in the
snowiest places?


Phil

"InMyTree" wrote in message ...
Here's a pic I took yesterday near Central Park.. boy did I pick a good time
to go to New York!

http://www.andrewhutchinson.net/mini-DSC00791.JPG

Wow looks like some storm, I wish we'd get a storm like that here, just once maybe.

I've naturally taken loads of pics.. I get back on Tuesday and will post
them all..

"Keith (Southend)" wrote in message
...
Thanks for sharing that with us :-(

Keith (Southend)

********************************
'Weather Home & Abroad'
http://www.southendweather.net
********************************
COL Station for Southend-on-Sea
********************************
Reply to: kreh'at'southendweather'dot'net
All mail scanned for virus's using Norton 2003




On Sat, 6 Dec 2003 11:57:25 -0000, "InMyTree"
wrote:

Here's a pic I took yesterday near Central Park.. boy did I pick a good
time
to go to New York!

http://www.andrewhutchinson.net/mini-DSC00791.JPG