Mother Nature Strikes Again
Cities prepare for second snowfall in five days, still cleaning up from first.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2010— -- Meteorologists are predicting the second massive storm in less than a week and all that work to clear roads and restore power won't matter when Mother Nature delivers the next blow.
Philadelphia and Washington need just nine more inches each to make it the snowiest winters for them since at least 1884, the first year records were kept. With forecasters predicting as much as 20 more inches of snow in Washington and 18 for Philadelphia by Wednesday night, it seems likely that records will be set.
New York City children can rejoice; a snow day has been announced for Wednesday, only the third in six years for them.
In Chicago there's already a foot and a half of snow on the ground and airports from there east are already starting to shut down. Nearly 6,000 flights have been cancelled so far.
Southwest Airlines and US Airways have both planned to stop flights out of Philadelphia by 8 p.m. tonight and Washington's airports said they expected to stop flights by 5 p.m.
The nation's capital, already battered by a storm that left 17.8 inches of snow this past weekend, is in a race to prepare for the second. Offices here, which have been closed since Friday, are expected to be closed through Wednesday at least.
Plows are breaking down and there's a fear of double freeze on the roads.
Plow driver Brian Blickentstaff said that when ice isn't cleared from the last storm before a new one arrives, it's much much harder to drive on.
Across the Washington area crews are frantically clearing roofs that are already stressed under heavy snow. Some university students were ordered out of their house after their roof actually cracked.
"Add the fact the current snow load is somewhere between 10 and 20 additional inches of snow load, and you can see why I am worried and concerned," D.C Fire Department Chief Dennis Rubin said.
On an average roof, that two feet of snow from last weekend could weigh up to 11,000 pounds -- the weight of an elephant.
Thousands of people are still without electricity, and though power may be restored tonight, those same homes could be threatened by this next blizzard.
