Global Butt-Warming - New England braces for 15 inches

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/weather/03/01/winter.weather/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Mon March 2, 2009
Snowstorm targets East Coast; New England braces for 15 inches

(CNN) -- A snowstorm that could last up to 18 hours was on its way to
southern New England, and Boston, Massachusetts, could be snowed under
with up to 15 inches, the National Weather Service said Sunday
afternoon.

A snowstorm is threatening parts of the Northeast with as much as 15
inches of snowfall.

Monday's commuters in the region could face a nightmare with blowing
and drifting snow, freezing temperatures, gusty winds and periods of
sleet. Flight delays and cancellations were likely, the weather
service said.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino declared a snow emergency starting 10 p.m.
Sunday in anticipation of the storm, CNN affiliate WCVB reported.
Boston public schools will be canceled on Monday. At 2:15 a.m. Monday,
light snow was starting to fall, WCVB reported.

Winter storm warnings straddled Interstate 95 from Maine to the
Carolinas, and they also were issued in parts of Georgia and Alabama.

Delta Air Lines canceled 300 flights, most of them to or from Atlanta,
because of snowy weather, spokesman Brian Kruse said Sunday. It was
snowing in Atlanta, where Delta is based, and 2 to 4 inches was
expected.

David Spear, a spokesman for the Georgia Department of Transportation,
expected traffic chaos.

"People tend to get a little animated out here at the sight of snow,"
he told CNN. "Our concern is going to be -- as we move into the
evening hours and the temperature drops -- that that slush becomes ice
and then we have a real situation for our morning commute tomorrow."

He said about 200 DOT trucks were deployed to help make roads safe for
motorists.

In northern Connecticut, southern New Hampshire and most of Rhode
Island and Massachusetts, a winter storm warning was to be in effect
from 9 p.m. Sunday to 5 p.m. Monday, the weather service said. Such a
warning is issued when winter weather conditions are expected to make
travel dangerous.

As the storm continued its northward trek late Sunday,
Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in South Carolina was
closed at 9 p.m. for snow removal from runways, according to the
Federal Aviation Administration. Farther north, Richmond International
Airport in Virginia was closed at 10:45 p.m. for the same reason, the
FAA said.

Both airports were expected to reopen before midnight.

The heaviest snow, up to 15 inches, was forecast for the heavily
populated I-95 corridor between Boston, Massachusetts, and Providence,
Rhode Island, northeast Connecticut and north into the Merrimack
Valley in northeast Massachusetts, the weather service said. As much
as 3 inches per hour could fall between 10 p.m. Sunday and 10 a.m.
Monday.

In Washington, Mayor Adrian Fenty declared a snow emergency Sunday
afternoon, meaning any street designated as "snow emergency route" by
signs would be cleared of any parked vehicles, towed if necessary, so
snow plows could work unimpeded. Watch report on the storm system »

"It is important that our crews have access to the roads from
curb-to-curb in order to plow the snow," said Fenty, whose city was
expected to get up to 8 inches of accumulation Sunday night and early
Monday with accumulations up to 10 inches by Monday night.

"This is one of the first plow events we have had this season, and we
want to ensure we are able to maintain clear and safe roadways as we
move into Monday morning," Fenty said.

Forecasters said as many as 14 inches of snow could pile up in
Philadelphia and New York City, starting Sunday night.

Lesser amounts of snow were reported as far south as Alabama, although
Charlotte, North Carolina, could see up to 8 inches. Watch snowfall
in Georgia »

In Memphis, Tennessee, CNN iReporter George Brown said Sunday that
forecasters had predicted "Teflon snow," which wouldn't stick to the
ground. But the snow that fell was much heavier, he said. iReport.com:
Share photos of icy, snowy weather in your town

"We were getting an inch or more an hour," he said. "Some roads are
impassable because the folks here aren't use to dealing with slick
streets. Many cars are off the interstate, and hotels are packed,"
Brown said. Watch winter storm cause accidents »

Snow in Germantown, Tennessee, was more than 5 inches deep by Sunday
afternoon, forecasters said.

Julie Oaks from the Tennessee Department of Transportation told CNN
she had never seen snow before in the western part of the state. Watch
the situation in Tennessee »

Tennessee called in 260 employees to salt and plow roadways through
the night, she said. By Sunday afternoon, about 45 cars and
semi-trailers had pulled over on the shoulder of Interstate 40, Oaks
said. Watch the snow come down in Memphis »

Rebecca Horsley, an iReporter from Pelham, Alabama, near Birmingham,
said snow began falling there Sunday at 6 a.m., interfering with her
planned birthday celebration.

"It looks like we may have to reschedule," she said.
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