CONCORD, New Hampshire (AP) — A powerful winter storm brought snow to inland parts of America’s Northeast and rain and wind to areas along the coast today. Fifteen people were killed and hundreds of thousands were without power.
National Weather Service spokesman David Roth said the heaviest snowfall would be in northern Pennsylvania, upstate New York and inland sections of several New England states before the storm heads to Canada.
The East Coast’s largest cities — New York, Philadelphia and Boston — were seeing mostly high winds and rain this morning. Other areas were getting a messy mix of rain and snow or just rain — enough to slow down commuters and those still heading home from visits with family.
Thousands of travelers were trying to make it home Thursday after the fierce storm stranded them at airports or relatives’ homes around the region. Some inbound flights were delayed in Philadelphia and New York’s LaGuardia, but the wet and windy weather wasn’t leading to delays at other major East Coast airports.
On New York’s Long Island, a Southwest Airlines jet bound for Tampa, Florida, veered off a taxiway and got stuck in mud Thursday morning. Officials said there were no injuries to the 129 passengers and five crew members, who were expected to take a later flight. Though the area received heavy rain overnight, Southwest spokesman Paul Flanigan said it wasn’t clear whether that played a role in the incident.
In Pittsburgh, a flight that landed safely during the storm last night got stuck in snow for about two hours on the tarmac. The American Airlines flight arrived between 8 and 9 p.m., but then ran over a snow patch and got stuck.
Airport spokeswoman JoAnn Jenny told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette workers tried for nearly two hours to tow the plane to the gate before deciding to bus passengers to the terminal.
People were killed in accidents in Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and homes in businesses in Arkansas and Maryland were without power.
