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Subscribe to RSSAnother winter storm will work its way across the U.S. from Minneapolis Minn. to Washington, D.C., the Weather Channel's Kim Cunningham reports.
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Winter storm drops snow from Missouri to Maine
Sydney Brink / Sedalia Democrat via AP
Tedd Hendrix, of Sedalia, Mo., frees a line of cable from downed branches Tuesday as he works to tie the line off so that it is elevated and out of the road. A snow storm, the second in less than a week, dumped about a foot of snow in Sedalia, knocking out power around the town and collapsing the roofs of several buildings.
A winter storm coated a swath of the country from Missouri to Maine with snow Wednesday, and forecasters warned of difficult travel.
About 100 flights into and out of Chicago’s O’Hare airport were canceled by midday, according to FlightAware.com, on top of more than 500 the day before.
Chicago had almost 5 inches of snow Tuesday, bringing its total for February to 14.9 inches and ranking it among the 20 snowiest months on record, according to NBCChicago.com.
As the storm moves east, it is expected to dump 6 to 10 inches of snow Wednesday and Thursday from the Allegheny Mountains of western Pennsylvania through the Adirondacks of upstate New York and into interior New England.
Full coverage from Weather.com
It is the same storm system that blasted the Rockies and the Great Plains earlier this week, packing hurricane-force wind gusts and shutting down travel in Kansas, Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle.
“It has a couple of jabs yet, especially for New England,” said Weather Channel meteorologist Tom Niziol.
In the Midwest, the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for Wednesday — some stretching into Thursday — for parts of Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin and Michigan. Heavily populated areas, including Milwaukee, suburban Chicago, northern suburbs of Detroit and Des Moines, Iowa, were also under warnings.
In the Northeast, the storm was expected to bring snow and ice to New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and parts of Maine through Thursday afternoon.
New York and other major cities such as Boston were forecast to mostly escape the heavy weather. But commuters in New York slogged through heavy wind and rain to get to work Wednesday. Upstate New York and northern parts of New England were expected to see further snow through Wednesday into the evening.
“It’s going to linger for a long time over portions of the Northeast,” meteorologist Brian Korty told Reuters.
The storm's biggest impact has been in Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma, though. In Texas, winds gusted to 84 mph near El Paso, according to Weather.com, which reported 7-foot snow drifts in Silverton, south of Amarillo.
The 19 inches of snow in Amarillo on Monday set a 120-year record, meteorologist Krissy Scotten told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth. The city in the Texas Panhandle usually sees an average of just under 18 inches for the entire winter, Scotten said.
To the east, parts of Missouri got more than a foot of snow, and Kansas City had 8 inches with more falling Wednesday morning.
Related:
Deadly storm dumps snow in North, heavy rain in South
Two dead as wind-whipped storm pounds Great PlainsThis story was originally published on Wed Feb 27, 2013 5:01 AM EST
Deadly storm dumps snow in North, heavy rain in South
The major storm that left cars stranded in Oklahoma and buried Amarillo, Texas, as also resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Meanwhile Detroit is struggling to keep roads clear. Weather Channel meteorologist Eric Fisher reports.
A powerful winter storm continued to hit much of the country Tuesday, with heavy snow spreading from the Plains to the Great Lakes and severe thunderstorms possible in the South, forecasters warned.
The National Weather Service said the storm would “continue to bring a variety of hazards” to the affected areas. Winds have been gusting up to hurricane strength, with 84 mph recorded at El Paso, Texas.
The storm was blamed for at least two deaths on Monday: Heavy snow caused a roof of a house in Woodward, Okla., to collapse, killing one person inside, and in northwest Kansas, a 21-year-old man was killed when his SUV overturned on an icy patch of Interstate 70. A third death was reported on Tuesday, after a female passenger died in a pickup truck accident on an icy strip of road overnight. Three others were injured in the accident.
Full coverage from weather.com
“We have roofs collapsing all over town,” Woodward Mayor Roscoe Hill, Jr., told Reuters. “We really have a mess on our hands.”
The storm brought the February total in Wichita, Kansas, to 21 inches, breaking a 100-year-old record for the month, NBC station KSN reported. A KSN reporter was covering the storm when a building collapsed under the weight of snow.
Authorities pleaded with people to stay off the roads because of what Weather Channel meteorologist Greg Postel described as a “really nasty blizzard.”
Powerful storms push across the Midwest, South. NBC's Jay Gray reports.
The NWS said that heavy snow would spread from the Plains to the Great Lakes, with “blizzard conditions possible through early Tuesday.”
“On the south side of the storm system, severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall are possible across portions of the Gulf Coast and Southeast,” it added.
Severe thunderstorms and the threat of heavy rainfall remained possible over sections of the southeastern states and the Gulf Coast on Tuesday, the NWS said, as the south side of the storm system moved through the area.
A waterspout came ashore in Tampa, Fla., damaging a Westin hotel, WTSP reported. Winds of 90 mph were reported in Cedar Key, and trees and power lines were down.
Charleston, S.C., broke its record for rain for the month with 10.46 inches -- and more was falling.
Hurricane force winds blew into Texas creating a 'historic' blizzard and whiteout conditions in the Texas-Oklahoma panhandle. Kansas also saw its share of snow as the storm blew north, and blizzard warnings are in effect. The Weather Channel's Mike Seidel reports.
In a storm summary message posted at 4 a.m. ET, the weather service said blizzard warnings were in effect for parts of central northern Oklahoma with storm watches and warnings in effect for some places from central Oklahoma into the southern Great Lakes.
In Chicago, the wintry mix could affect voter turnout in the special primary to replace former Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., in the Illinois 2nd District. As much as five inches of slushy snow was expected in the city’s southern suburbs, and a storm watch has been issued for the northern part of the state.
Keith Myers / The Kansas City Star via AP
A fallen tree limb blocks his drive as John Cushing shoves snow Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo.
Storm watches and warnings were also in effect for portions of the Appalachians, mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states, while ice storm warnings and freezing rain advisories were in effect for parts of West Virginia.
The NWS warned of high winds in the Appalachians in Tennessee, North Carolina and southern Virginia.
In Texas, residents discovered that even their snowdrifts are bigger as they began to dig out from a whopping 19 inches of snow in Amarillo that stranded as many as 100 motorists in the Panhandle and caused Gov. Rick Perry called out military forces.
Farther south, there were flood and flash-flood warnings and watches for “much of the Gulf Coast and southeast U.S. from Louisiana to Georgia.”
Flood watches were also in effect for parts of the mid-Atlantic Region, the NWS notice added, as rain was expected throughout the greater Washington, D.C., area on Tuesday. The mix of rain and wind was expected to begin by noon, picking up through the later part of the day. Meteorologists warned people should expect more rain than sleet as temperatures were likely to remain above freezing. The rain should move out of the area by Wednesday morning, and might yield to sunny skies later in the afternoon.
Commuters in New York City and the tri-state area should also expect to see a late-afternoon cocktail of rain, sleet, and snow. The worst of the storm was likely to hit overnight, though morning commuters might also catch the tail of the storm on Wednesday, forecasters said. As much as six inches of snow could accumulate at higher elevations inland.
Related:
2 dead as wind-whipped winter storm pounds Great Plains
This story was originally published on Tue Feb 26, 2013 5:16 AM EST
Snow, freezing rain to lash New England through Sunday
The Weather Channel's Kim Cunningham has the latest on a storm that's headed to New England and a second storm that's coming out of the Rockies.
Parts of New England braced for snow on Saturday, with Boston prepared for a mix of snow and freezing rain in the third storm to rake the area in three weekends. The mix will likely make a messy end for a powerful storm system that headed eastward after slamming much of the Midwest with snow earlier this week, meteorologists said.
As many as 1 to 3 inches of snow could fall in Boston, with the heaviest snowfall expected between Saturday night and Sunday morning.
“I’m not thrilled that we’ve got more snow coming this weekend. I’ve had enough of winter,” Boston area resident John Bonnanzio, 54, told Reuters.
But other residents were ready to make the most of the coming storm.
“I’m excited,” Jesse Beecher, 29, told Reuters. “I went out skiing in the streets during the last one, and I’ll do the same thing again.”
A winter weather advisory was set to go into effect for much of the region starting at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
The storm system, which left much of the Midwest buried under snow, has the potential to cause flooding in the southeastern United States and was expected to bring precipitation to much of the east coast, including New York City and north into Massachusetts. The Weather Channel said parts of southern Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and northern and central Massachusetts could see up to 6 to 9 inches of snow over the weekend.
The massive storm system resulted in 570 flight cancellations on Friday, including 127 at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, Reuters said.
Meanwhile, a storm in the Pacific Northwest was expected to dump 2 to 3 feet of snow on the Cascade Mountains through the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. The weather service issued winter storm warnings for parts of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Utah on Friday.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related:
Storms to dump snow on New England, heavy rain on Southeast, forecasters warn
People across the Midwest are digging out from the snow after a big storm passed through, resulting in difficult commutes and school closures. NBC's John Yang reports.
Parts of New England were expected to be hit by heavy snowfalls while heavy rain was threatening to cause flash floods in parts of the Southeast, forecasters warned.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch at about 10 p.m. ET Friday for southern New Hampshire, northern Rhode Island, and much of central, northern and eastern Massachusetts, including Boston.
It said the area could be hit by up to 8 inches of snow, which some parts potentially getting nearly 10 inches.
“Snow will overspread the region tomorrow [Saturday] afternoon. The heaviest snow will occur tomorrow night into Sunday morning, when 1 to 2 inch per hour snowfall rates will be possible,” the NWS said.
“The biggest concern is that this will be a heavy wet snow. This will bring the potential for downed tree limbs and scattered power outages. Untreated roads are also expected to become snow covered and slippery,” the weather service said.
Temperatures were expected to be in the lower 30s with winds of 5-10 mph.
“Anyone traveling in the next 24 to 36 hours should monitor later forecasts and be prepared to modify travel plans should winter weather develop,” the NWS notice added.
NBC.Connecticut.com meteorologist Bob Maxon said the state would also see snow and rain from the weekend storm. He expected up to 4 inches of snow or more in the Litchfield Hills and northeast Connecticut.
South of Connecticut, rain was expected to be the problem.
"Days of heavy rainfall could lead to river flooding and flash flooding in the Southeast," the NWS said.
At 5:20 a.m. ET, the weather service issued a flash flood warning for Geneva and Houston counties in southeast Alabama, saying heavy showers and thunderstorms had been detected.
Weather.com reported that it expected that an areas from New York City to Philadelphia would “primarily” see rain.
Record snowfall in Wichita, Kansas, creates havoc at the airport where crews had to dig out a plane stuck on the tarmac. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
It said it expected 2 to 5 inches of snow in Boston, adding “the amount of rain versus snow that falls will dictate whether snowfall amounts are on the higher or lower end of this range.”
The storm hit parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan on Friday.
In Minnesota alone, the State Patrol said there were 124 crashes during the morning commute, killing one driver and injuring 23, NBC affiliate KARE in Minneapolis reported.
Pacific Northwest storm
Meanwhile, a storm in the Pacific Northwest was expected to bring strong winds through Saturday and dump 2 to 3 feet of snow on the Cascade Mountains through Monday, the NWS said.Much of the Midwest is covered in a blanket of white as a massive winter storm has covered parts of Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas with over a foot of snow. NBC's John Yang reports.
“Considerable blowing and drifting snow and an increased avalanche risk are expected in the high terrain for portions of the region,” it said.
The NWS issued winter storm warnings for parts of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Utah.
"Periods of heavy snowfall" were also expected Saturday in parts of Hawaii, according to another winter storm warning notice.
Up to 12 inches were possible at high altitudes in an area including Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, with temperatures in the mid-20s to mid-30s.
Related:
PhotoBlog: Winter whiteout slams central US
This story was originally published on Sat Feb 23, 2013 4:14 AM EST
Storm expected to give New England third straight weekend of snow
People across the Midwest are digging out from the snow after a big storm passed through, resulting in difficult commutes and school closures. NBC's John Yang reports.
A winter storm that raked the Great Lakes states was headed for the Northeast, which braced for its third straight weekend of significant snow.
The storm was expected to pelt New England's coastal areas from northern Connecticut to southern Maine with a mix of snow and rain late on Friday, said National Weather Service meteorologist John Foley. Snow was predicted for Saturday, with up to a foot possible in central Massachusetts, he told Reuters.
The Weather Channel forecast that southern parts of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and northern and central Massachusetts could see snowfall of 6 inches or more over the weekend. Between 2 to 5 inches of snow may fall in Boston, and the storm will likely dump rains from New York City to Philadelphia, it said.
PhotoBlog: Winter whiteout slams central US
Crews in Massachusetts, which has already exhausted its $45 million storm budget, readied piles of salt and sand and thousands of pieces of equipment, NBC affiliate WHDH in Boston reported.
The storm made a mess of things Friday in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.
In Minnesota alone, the State Patrol said there were 124 crashes during the morning commute, killing one driver and injuring 23, NBC affiliate KARE in Minneapolis reported.
Ice complicated travel in Ohio. In Cleveland, a United Airlines 737 skidded off the runway into grass and snow after landing from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. There were no reported injuries, and the passengers were taken by bus to the terminal.
Full coverage from weather.com
O’Hare airport in Chicago reported delays of an hour and a half, and Cincinnati reported more than 45 minutes. The airport in Kansas City, shut down earlier this week in heavy snow, reopened, but most morning flights were delayed. A handful of flights remained cancelled or delayed Friday evening.
In Cincinnati, a semi lost control on an icy overpass, leaving one wheel dangling over the edge. No one was hurt, but part of Interstate 71 was closed for a time, and the truck was leaking fuel, NBC affiliate WLWT in Cincinnati reported.
A day earlier, it was the Plains turn. A United regional jet from Denver got stuck in the snow after landing at the airport in Wichita, Kan. Workers tried to clear a path so that buses could collect the passengers, but the tarmac was too slick, and the plane was stuck for about two hours.
Passengers said that flight attendants passed out cookies and that passengers and crew stayed upbeat.
Record snowfall in Wichita, Kansas, creates havoc at the airport where crews had to dig out a plane stuck on the tarmac. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
"By far the most entertaining delay I've ever had in my life," passenger Joshua Locke said. "This has just been laughable to me."
Reuters contributed to this report.
Much of the Midwest is covered in a blanket of white as a massive winter storm has covered parts of Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas with over a foot of snow. NBC's John Yang reports.
This story was originally published on Fri Feb 22, 2013 9:32 AM EST
Winter storm to hit US from Calif. to Midwest
The Weather Channel
Snow forecast through Wednesday.
A winter storm moving in from the Pacific Ocean was expected to bring a foot or more of snow and 75 mph wind gusts to mountainous areas of California on Tuesday, before aiming for the Midwest and laying down a wintry blanket as it goes, the National Weather Service said.
Even coastal Californians would feel the storm's wrath in the form of high winds and heavy rains, forecasters said.
Weather.com meteorologists said the storm originated in the Gulf of Alaska and was taking a southerly course that would hammer California before the system turns inland and strikes as far northeast as Chicago and the Midwest.
More coverage from The Weather Channel
Mountainous parts of Los Angeles, San Diego and Ventura counties in California were under winter storm warnings, and snow could present a danger on mountain highways, including Interstate 15, the weather service said.
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Ice and snow changes our environment, as winter engulfs our world.
Those on the Southern California coast were expected to see see wind-whipped waves. High-surf advisories, predicting waves up to 10 feet, have been issued from Ventura County south through Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties.
Up to two inches of rain could fall in some areas as the storm moves through, and high winds and snow are likely to also cause problems inland, in heavily populated Riverside and San Bernardino counties, both of which are under winter storm and high-wind warnings.
After the storm moves through California, it will take a sharp turn and hit the Four Corners states Wednesday and Thursday, bringing widespread snowfall across the mountains of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and parts of Arizona, Weather.com reported.
Weather Channel meteorologist Nick Wiltgen said that as the storm moved eastward, cold air from Canada and moist air from the western Gulf of Mexico would mix to bring snowfalls of up to an inch an hour for several hours, setting the stage for a "major winter storm" over the Plains that could produce double-digit snowfalls along the Interstate 80 corridor. Just to the south, an icy mix could make travel treacherous.
A huge section of the middle of the country is under a winter storm watch, and the Deep South may see severe thunderstorms.
By the time the weather system reaches the Great Lakes, the snowfall was likely to be minor, Wiltgen said.
However some computer models suggested Chicago would get heavy snow late in the week.
The weather service has issued special weather statements and various winter storm advisories for large parts of the western Great Lakes region.
The Northern Plains were expected to remain in the icy grip of arctic winds, with wind chills in many approaching 40 degrees below zero. Up to nine inches of snow was thought possible in places.
Nearly the entire state of Minnesota and large parts of the Dakotas were under a wind-chill advisory.
Related:
26 injured as snow sparks crashes on I-95
High winds and snow hit New England -- again
26 injured as snow sparks crashes on I-95 in Connecticut
Another round of howling winds and blowing snow punished parts of New England, with at least 26 people hurt in collisions that forced the closure of busy Interstate 95 on Sunday.
More than a dozen collisions damaged 30 cars along a two-exit stretch of I-95 near West Haven, Conn., NBCConnecticut.com reported. Police closed both sides of the East Coast's primary north-south route for two hours.
As the storm system pushed north, it left a stretch along the northern border from upstate New York to the east coast of Maine bracing for bitterly cold wind chills and more snow, according to the National Weather Service. Eastern Maine faced a blizzard warning until 4 p.m. ET Monday.
Winds were predicted to gust up to 50 mph, causing wind chills approaching 30 degrees below zero. Blowing snow was likely to create white-out conditions and produce drifts up to several feet high, the weather service said.
The second blizzard in as many weeks is hitting the Northeast. NBC's Lester Holt reports.
In addition to Maine, parts of New York, Vermont and New Hampshire were under similar advisories, with wind chills of nearly 30 below possible in higher elevations.
Weather.com predicted that the wind would be a much bigger problem than snow, with only an additional inch or two expected. Such snows are "not particularly heavy by New England standards," weather.com said, but poor visibility and bitterly cold air presented real dangers.
No widespread flight cancellations were reported by 6 a.m. ET Monday, according to FlightAware.com. However, the weather system on Sunday contributed to more than 200 U.S. and Canadian flight cancellations. Particularly hard hit was Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, where 84 flights were canceled. The storm dropped flurries as far south as Charleston, N.C.
Elsewhere, the Northern Plains was experiencing the nation's harshest winter weather.
The weather service issued blizzard warnings for parts of North Dakota and Minnesota, with wind gusts up to 45 mph and snowfall of up to 10 inches expected through Monday evening. The nearly 3 million inhabitants of Minneapolis-St. Paul were forecast to just miss the worst of the weather.
Related:
High winds, snow hit New England
Clobbered Northeast begins to dig out
High winds, snow hit New England
The second blizzard in as many weeks is hitting the Northeast. NBC's Lester Holt reports.
A winter storm initially expected to produce blizzard-like conditions in parts of New England brought moderate snow and strong winds to the region on Sunday.
Forecasters had said up to a foot of snow would be possible in areas of New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts, but the storm was moving out of the region Sunday afternoon after less than half that amount had accumulated.
For southeastern New England, including Boston, the snow totaled 3 to 5 inches, Boston.com reported. The snow and ice in the city caused flights arriving to Logan International Airport to be delayed an average of 52 minutes.
Meanwhile, arctic air and heavy winds meant below-freezing temperatures in New England and wind chills in the single digits across the whole eastern U.S. over the weekend, weather.com reported.
Janet S. Carter / The Free Press via AP
Snow flurries shroud Washington Street in Kinston, N.C., on Saturday.
“What will be noteworthy today are the winds which will be especially strong along the coast,” Meteorologist David Epstein said. “At times some coastal areas south of Boston could see wind gusts hit 50 miles per hour.”
The Weather Channel’s Dr. Greg Postel warned the strong winds could cause scattered power outages throughout the region.
The snow that was hitting the New England area came a day after the moving storm brought 2-3 inches of snow to the Carolinas.
Much of New England just finished digging out after a historic winter storm that dumped 30 inches of snow on parts of Massachusetts and even more in Connecticut.
NBC News' Alastair Jamieson contributed to this report.
This story was originally published on Sat Feb 16, 2013 6:25 PM EST
For blizzard-weary Northeast, here comes more snow
Winslow Townson / AP
People dig out their cars in Boston, on Sunday, Feb. 10. A howling storm across the Northeast left the New York-to-Boston corridor shrouded in 1 to 3 feet of snow Saturday, stranding motorists on highways overnight and piling up drifts so high that some homeowners couldn't get their doors open.
The snow-weary Northeast is about to get hit again. And again.
Forecasters say parts of New England — still digging out from an epic snowstorm last weekend — should get several inches of snow Wednesday night, according to weather.com. New York and Philadelphia could see 1 to 3 inches.
Temperatures are not expected to be low enough to cause significant travel problems, said Tom Moore, a meteorologist for The Weather Channel.
More coverage from weather.com
Then, this weekend, a second round: A weather system should deliver light snow to the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Appalachians on Friday, then dust northern New England on Saturday.
Earlier forecast models suggested that the weekend storm could sock the Northeast with high wind and heavy snow, but those models now think a low-pressure system will stay far enough offshore to keep that from happening.
The blizzard last weekend left at least 12 people dead, buried cars along highways, mangled travel across the country and dumped more than 3 feet of snow in some places.
It’s still causing problems: Just Wednesday morning, snow mounds and icy roads slowed firefighters’ response to a house fire in Hampton, Conn., fire officials told NBCConnecticut.com.
The family in the 3,000-square-foot home made it out safely, but it took firefighters six hours to put down the blaze. And a firefighter slipped on ice and broke his ankle.
EARLIER: Northeast stirs back to life after weekend blizzard
Northeast could be in for more snow
Spencer Platt / Getty Images
A couple walks through Prospect Park in New York on Monday as the Northeast began returning to work after being hit by a massive winter storm. Another severe storm could be on the way this weekend, but forecasts are mixed.
Even as it recovers from a punishing snowstorm that buried much of New York and New England, the Northeast could be in for more snow, according to meteorologists.
A system forecast to bring snow, heavy in places, to parts of the Southern Plains and Mid-Atlantic may veer northeastward Wednesday and give a fresh dusting to already-covered states. And yet another winter storm is possible for the coming weekend, though there is less confidence that it will, said Weather Channel meteorologist Tom Moore.
As of Tuesday morning, the storm had an area from the Texas Panhandle to central Oklahoma in its sights.
Craig Ruttle / AP
A dangerous winter storm churned Friday into the Northeast as forecasters warned of a whiteout.
A winter storm warning issued by the National Weather Service cautioned that 6 to 9 inches of snowfall was likely in central and eastern parts of the Texas Panhandle and parts of Oklahoma, with travel becoming hazardous. That warning was scheduled to remain in effect until 9 p.m. ET Tuesday.
Forecasters say the storm will move through the Appalachians and the Mid-Atlantic on Wednesday, then turn slightly toward the Northeast, generally leaving behind only a couple of inches of snow.
But that’s not the storm the Northeast needs to worry about. The potential problem comes with a low-pressure system that could lash the Northeast with heavy snow and high winds this weekend, Moore said.
But there’s good news: The latest computer models are in disagreement over the likelihood of that happening. One model shows the low pressure staying offshore and having no ill effects on the Northeast. The other shows wretched weather for an area already suffering.
“It is still too early to choose one solution over the other,” Moore said.
Related:
Long Island residents beg for snow plows days after Northeast storm
View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.
Frustrated residents on New York's Long Island, stranded in their homes by Friday's blizzard, spent Monday calling local town officials and begging for plows to dig them out.
In Centereach, neighbors took matters into their own hands, pushing vehicles out of the streets and using shovels and snowblowers to clear the streets on their own.
"For the last three days, we've been pushing people out and digging people out," said Steve Reinhardt.
Walter Doroski, who's been helping push cars through the icy, snowy mess on Wood Drive, said, "It's been horrible. This is the worst it's ever been, we haven't seen a plow truck at all."
On Dean Street in Port Jefferson Station, a man slipped on the icy road while trying to help push a friend's car. That man needed an ambulance but help could not make it up the road.
"The ambulance couldn't pass, so they had to come on a sled and just put him on there and drag him away," said witness Elinson Taveres.
Read more news on NBCNewYork.com
Clay Darrohn, a father of two in Nesconset, was stuck in his home for three days and his calls to Smithtown officials went unanswered.
His wife needed to make a business trip to Chicago and was eventually forced to trudge through knee-deep snow to a friend's waiting car at the end of her street.
Others living on Commander Vic Lane also tried and failed to bring help.
"I am so mad, I can't tell you. It's crazy," said neighbor Ira Jacobs.
Jacobs and his neighbors cleared part of the street using snowblowers. Shortly after NBC 4 New York called, Smithtown plows were finally seen in the streets.
The arrival of the first plow was greeted by jeers from Jacobs.
"Where have you been for three days?" he asked.
Still buried
Similar questions were being asked in Suffolk communities like Setauket and Ronkonkoma, still buried under nearly 3 feet of snow.Craig Ruttle / AP
A dangerous winter storm churned Friday into the Northeast as forecasters warned of a whiteout.
Watching and waiting for a way off the snow-covered street was Fran Gucciardo, a woman in her 80s who relies on oxygen because of a rare pulmonary disease. Gucciardo has been unable to get to her doctor or physical therapy since the storm.
"These people are saving my life," Gucciardo said of her neighbors.
"I understand this was an unusual storm, but there was plenty of time to prepare for it," Gucciardo added.
Shortly after NBC 4 New York spoke to Brookhaven officials about Starfire Lane, plows finally arrived on that street as well.
"I won't sleep until every street is cleared," said Brookhaven deputy supervisor Dan Panico.
According to Panico, the storm overwhelmed town plowing operations across Suffolk.
The depth of the snow was too much for regular plows, Panico explained, so work was delayed until heavy equipment could be brought in from other areas.
"I understand the frustration," Panico said. "I am frustrated, too"
Panico is overseeing clean-up operations in Brookhaven because town supervisor Ed Romaine is away on vacation and the town's acting highway superintendent is sick, a town spokesman confirmed.
Their absence had no impact on the storm cleanup, and Romaine's office said his trip was planned far in advance of the storm.
But Councilman Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld questioned, "If you knew it was headed toward your township, would you make the decision to change your plans and stay and marshal forces to help residents, or would you go on vacation?"
Related:
Northeast returns to normal as power comes on, roads reopen, flights resume