Temps lead to icy conditions after nor'easter
NEW YORK -- Concerns about falling temperatures and icy conditions on roads and sidewalks across the Northeast followed a late-season storm that plastered the region with sleet and snow.
New York City got anywhere from a few inches of snow to around half a foot before it switched over to sleet. Forecasters had predicted a foot or more. In New Jersey, which saw rain or just a little snow, Gov. Chris Christie called the storm an "underperformer." More snow still was expected Wednesday in the Hudson Valley.
New York City Public Schools reopened, but many school closures and delays remained in some areas. States of emergency had been lifted in New York and New Jersey.
PATH trains and New Jersey Transit light rail were operating regularly. All buses going into or out of Port Authority in New York were suspended until 5 a.m. Amtrak service between New York and Albany, and New York and Boston remained suspended.
MTA subway express service resumed by 7 a.m. Wednesday. Above-ground subway service was restored Tuesday at 6 p.m. New York City bus service began running normally on Wednesday at 5 a.m.
Metro-North was on a modified schedule Wednesday morning. The LIRR was expected to continue to operate on a normal schedule. NJT rail service was running on a President Day schedule. Bus service resumes, but may experience delays and detours due to local road conditions.
In Nanuet and Riverdale:
These were the flights cancellations for Wednesday: 133 in and out of LaGuardia; 98 in and out of Newark; and 49 in and out of JFK. Many flights Wednesday were fully booked, and passengers were urged to call their airlines before traveling. Significant traffic is expected.
Most of the power outages in the Tri-State area were in Southern New Jersey -- nearly 5,000.
But officials still warned of dangerous ice and gusty winds. Plunging overnight temperatures threatened to turn the snow, sleet and sloppy mix into a slippery mess, raising fears of black ice for morning motorists and slick sidewalks for pedestrians.
Tuesday's powerful nor'easter paralyzed much of the Washington-to-Boston corridor, but it fell short of the predicted snowfall totals in New York. Inland areas got hit hard. The Binghamton, N.Y., area got over 2 feet, while Vernon, New Jersey, had at least 19 inches.
The storm came just days after the region saw temperatures climb into the 60s, and less than a week before the official start of spring.
While most people heeded the warnings to stay off the roads, police said a 16-year-old girl was killed when she lost control of her car on a snowy road and crashed into a tree in Gilford, New Hampshire. In East Hartford, Connecticut, an elderly man died after being struck by a snow plow truck.
The post office halted mail delivery. The number of flight cancellations reached more than 3,000 in the New York City area alone, stranding hundreds of passengers.
And two ponies broke out of their stables and roamed the snowy streets of Staten Island until an off-duty police officer wrangled them with straps normally used to tow cars and tied them to a lamppost. They were taken back to the stables.
