The worst of the blizzard was yet to come, with strong winds and heavy snow expected to produce “life-threatening blizzard conditions” throughout Saturday, according to the National Weather Service’s website. Forecasters also predicted up to a half-inch of ice accumulation in the Carolinas, and potentially serious coastal flooding in the mid-Atlantic.
Snow had started falling Friday, and Kentucky felt quite a brunt from that, with 18 inches in some areas. Drivers who opted to take to the roads were stranded on a long stretch of Interstate 75 south of Lexington because of a string of crashes and blowing snow, state police and witnesses said. The road was closed, but it was unclear how many were stuck or when it would be cleared. Crews were passing out snacks, fuel and water and trying to move cars one by one. Some had been stranded since Friday afternoon, and emergency shelters had opened.
In the Washington, D.C., metro area, nearly two feet of snow was measured on the ground Saturday morning. In Silver Spring, Maryland, about 20 inches of snow was outside by daybreak. Lightning flashed, and thundersnow rumbled. Plows cleared a heavily traveled road; ambulances and trucks were able to get through, but few other vehicles were moving. A couple intrepid people walked along the cleared portion of the road, ducking into the deeper snow when vehicles approached.
According to the National Weather Service’s website early Saturday, 18 inches of snow already had fallen on Ulysses in eastern Kentucky, while 16 inches fell in Beattyville. Between 14 inches to 15.5 inches had fallen in at other locations across Kentucky, including Frenchburg, Mount Vernon, Eglon and Lancer.
Other states that recorded snowfall amounts greater than 6 inches included Delaware, Georgia, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. Various locations in Georgia and Alabama received between 1 and 3.5 inches of snow.
In New Jersey, 40,000 people were without power early Saturday, most of them along the coast.
Even before the snow began to fall Friday afternoon, states of emergency were declared, lawmakers went home, and schools, government offices and transit systems closed early from as far south as Georgia to as far north as New York City.
The ice and snow made travel treacherous, with thousands of accidents and at least nine deaths reported along the region’s roadways. By late Friday, Virginia State Police had reported 989 car crashes statewide since the storm began, and had assisted nearly 800 disabled vehicles, said Ken Schrad, spokesman for the Virginia State Police Joint Information Center.
In Kentucky, on the closed section of I-75, photos from local media outlets showed a long line of trucks and other vehicles lined up along the snowy road. Among them was local TV reporter Caitlin Centner, who told her station, WKYT-TV (http://bit.ly/1PpjtXs), in a segment aired from her news van that it was a crazy experience, with wind and snow building as drivers turn off cars to save gas.
“Every time it looks like there’s light at the end of the tunnel, more accidents and slide-offs are occurring,” she said.