New England gets winter blast

BOSTON -- New England's first major winter storm of 2008 snarled the Monday morning commute with heavy snow and closed hundreds of schools.

Following the snowiest December on record in some parts of the region, and a spell of spring-like warmth, meteorologists said as much as 14 inches of snow was possible in southern New Hampshire and areas west and north of Boston.

Many communities declared snow emergencies in advance of the storm and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino ordered only essential city employees to report to work.

Snow piled up quickly in western Massachusetts, where the National Weather Service reported 9 inches on the ground at Amherst by just after 7 a.m. Pine Plains, N.Y., near the Connecticut state line, reported 7 inches, and Burlington, Conn., had 6.5 inches.

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Hundreds of public and private schools canceled classes for the day in anticipation of the snow in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island and parts of eastern New York.

School officials were taking no chances, especially after a Dec. 13 storm in which many youngsters in Providence, R.I., were stuck on buses for hours. That storm also caused monumental traffic jams around Boston.

Numerous flights were canceled at Boston's Logan International Airport, and Maine's Portland International Jetport.

"We are open, but capacity is very low because airlines made decisions yesterday and (Monday) morning to cancel many of their flights," said Phil Orlandella, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority.

Utilities reported scattered power outages as the heavy, wet snow brought down tree limbs.

The New Hampshire Legislature canceled all events.

Authorities said major highways were slick and a number of accidents and spinouts were reported. But volume was lighter than usual as many commuters apparently heeded storm forecasts.

"Right now, we're not seeing the traffic that we would normally see on a Monday," said Massachusetts State Police Lt. Eric Anderson.

So far this winter, Concord, N.H., has gotten 54 inches of snow, nearly 44 inches has fallen at Portland, Maine, and Bangor, Maine, has totaled 49 inches.