The Associated Press

Blizzard-like weather enveloped parts of the Northeast on Saturday, forcing all of New York’s airports to close and Philadelphia to declare a snow emergency.

Saturday, December 30, 2000

Blizzard-like weather enveloped parts of the Northeast on Saturday, forcing all of New York’s airports to close and Philadelphia to declare a snow emergency. Hundreds of flights were canceled, trains and buses were ordered off the roads, and traffic on highways slowed to a crawl as work crews struggled to keep up with nature’s abundance.

Snow extended from southern New Jersey to Maine, coating the region in ghostly white. By midday, 13 inches had fallen in Middlesex County in New Jersey and 11 inches in New York City.

”It’s going to be hard to keep pace with this,” Bob Catene said as he shoveled the walk in front of the Italian food store he runs in Brooklyn. ”After this one I’ll be snowed out for the rest of the season.”

As he fought to clear his walk, thunder crackled in the gray sky.

New York’s Kennedy Airport was down to one runway, then closed, joining La Guardia and Newark airports. Philadelphia’s airport was open but airlines reported dozens of delays and cancellations. Amtrak canceled its Metroliner service between New York and Washington.

Some of the East Coast escaped the brunt of the storm because it developed farther north and east than forecast – by 10 a.m., the sky was clear in Washington.

Elsewhere, people across the Plains continued to deal with the aftermath of the storms that hit earlier in the week, killing at least 40 people. Electric workers fought bitter cold and ice for a fifth day as they struggled to restore power to tens of thousands of homes in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.