East Coast Heat, Western Avalanche

Jan. 6, 2007 — -- Up and down the East Coast today, record temperatures were recorded. Spring in January.

In Washington, 72 degree temperatures coaxed some of the cherry blossoms out and led to larger crowds at the National Zoo.

In New York, where it was 71 degrees, sunbathers and joggers in shorts and t-shirts filled Central Park.

And in Boston, 69 degree temperatures turned the ice skating rink at the Boston Commons into puddles.

The warm weather is not welcome in Minnesota, where they had to cancel the Forest Lake Ice Fishing contest. Thin ice could lead to people falling through.

The mild temperatures have been especially difficult for snow-related businesses. Many East Coast ski resorts are dry.

Local hardware stores are suffering, too, with bags of salt and shovels just sitting there -- leading storekeepers to wonder just how much longer they can take it before going out of business.

But meteorologist Dennis Feltgen said, "There's still plenty of winter left. Don't put the snow shovels away just yet. It only takes one storm and one real good cold snap to bring us back to reality."

The reality of winter is in full swing in the West, where in outside Denver today, a huge avalanche covered a major roadway, burying cars. Amazingly, only a handful of injuries were reported.

The avalanche follows Colorado's third major snow storm in as many weeks.