Monster snowstorm blasts eastern US, leaving a trail of destruction

US Secret Service Agents stand guard outside the White House during a snowstorm in downtown Washington, DC on January 22, 2016. A blizzard warning was in effect for a large swathe of the eastern US from Washington to New York. PHOTO | MLADEN ANTONOV | AFP

What you need to know:

  • US news reports said at least eight people had died by late Friday from causes related to the monster snowstorm, expected to last until early Sunday.
  • The blizzard could surpass a record set in 1922 by a storm that dumped 28 inches over three days and killed 100 people when a roof collapsed at a theatre.

WASHINGTON
A deadly blizzard with bone-chilling winds and potentially record-breaking snowfall slammed eastern US as officials urged millions in the storm’s path to seek shelter, warning the worst was yet to come.

US news reports said at least eight people had died by late Friday from causes related to the monster snowstorm, expected to last until early Sunday.

The storm dumped more than two feet of snow in Washington, DC and the surrounding area by late Saturday, bringing life to a wintry halt as residents rode out the rough weather.

“The real teeth of this #winterstorm will be after midnight thru early Sat afternoon. Heavy snow, increasing winds, lightning threat,” the National Weather Service tweeted.

A blizzard warning was in effect for a large swathe of the eastern US from Washington to New York.

The storm affected about 85 million Americans — almost a quarter of the inhabitants of the US. It could cause more than $1 billion in damage, NWS officials said.

Several southern states, meanwhile, were already hit by snow and sleet — unusual for the region — with tens of thousands of residents without power.

Frantic shoppers emptied grocery store shelves in preparation for the storm, dubbed “Snowzilla” by some US media, and schools and government offices in Washington were closed.

“I think it is going to be a disaster,” Sharonda Brown, a nurse, said as she waited for an Uber car with a full cart of groceries at a supermarket stormed by shoppers.

Winds were expected to pick up overnight, prompting Washington’s police chief Cathy Lanier to urge residents to stay indoors.

“With the increasing winds and increasing snow accumulation, now we’re going to see more and more people stranded,” she told CNN.

Crews were out clearing roads throughout the US capital, while others turned to shovels.

TRANSPORT HALTED

Among them was 28-year-old William Duren, who was clearing a sidewalk outside a downtown Washington hotel.

“Usually when we see snow in the forecast, it turns out to be only an inch or so. They always exaggerate on TV,” he said, before adding that this time, the forecasters appeared to be right.

Several thousand flights were cancelled because of the storm, while officials in Washington took the unusual step of closing down the city’s rail and bus system from Friday night until Monday morning.

The Metrorail — the second busiest underground train network in the US after New York — serves about 700,000 customers a day in Washington, Maryland and Virginia.

The blizzard could surpass a record set in 1922 by a storm that dumped 28 inches over three days and killed 100 people when a roof collapsed at a theatre.

US Capitol Police said they were lifting a decades-old sledding ban, but the national monuments, Capitol building and Smithsonian museums were closed.

Even a massive snowball fight in Washington’s Dupont Circle neighbourhood, which nearly 2,000 people said they would attend on Facebook, had to be postponed from Saturday to Sunday due to the storm’s ferocity.

Snow and sleet has already hit the southern states of Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia, with 18 states under blizzard or other winter storm warnings, the Weather Channel said.

“We’re having a lot of accidents,” said Pat McCrory, Governor of North Carolina, where two of the fatalities were reported to have occurred.