Monster storm? Mountains of snow? We've seen this movie.
For many people in the Northeast, another big winter storm – and the inconveniences it brings – is becoming too much of a pattern. Travel is snarled, schools closed, and snow piles just get higher.
Three men attempt to free an automobile from the snow on New York's Upper West Side, Thursday, Jan. 27.
Richard Drew/AP
New York
For a lot of people living in the Northeast, it feels like Groundhog Day – the movie.
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A bad snow storm – make that a near-blizzard – pelts the area with a foot or more of the white stuff. Public transportation grinds to a halt. Crossing a street becomes a mountain-climbing experience. And, guess what? Just like in the movie, you get to wake up and do it all over again.
On Thursday morning, the snow statistics sound vaguely like the late December blizzard that brought places like New York City, Long Island, and Connecticut to their knees: Central Park got 19 inches of snow; Bridgeport, Conn., more than 12 inches; Boston 11 inches.
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In New York, the January snowfall total has now reached 36 inches, breaking a record set in 1925. Some meteorologist expect New York will break the prior record of 75.6 inches set in the winter of 1995-1996.
The cycle of snow might not be so bad if some of it had melted. But in places like Boston, residents are now wondering where to move it. So far this season, the city has received 60.3 inches of snow, more than three times the average for this date, 18.8 inches, and almost 50 percent more than the average total for the entire winter, 41.8 inches.
“It’s piled everywhere,” says Amy Staley, a resident of Somerville, Mass., adjacent to Boston. “I am a social worker and have to drive to people’s houses, so you have to get out and dig a place out to find a parking space.”
The snow is piled so high, Ms. Staley says, it has become difficult to see around the corners at intersections. “You are definitely inching your way out and thinking, 'I haven’t seen anyone so maybe I’ll go a little bit further.' ”
Like the December storm, the storm overnight caused massive transportation problems. Amtrak canceled its service between New York and Boston. Airlines operating out of Northeast airports in Philadelphia, New York, and Boston canceled scores of flights. New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority pulled its buses off the streets and the limited subway service was packed.
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