Snow Storm 2011: Rare October Winter Storm Leaves Millions Without Power
A rare storm pummeled the U.S. East Coast this weekend leaving millions of people to shovel through inches of snow and without access to power.
More than 2.4 million people across the Northeast were left without access to power Monday morning and some parts of the region were covered in snow as deep as two feet.
In Connecticut 758,000 remained without power, while in Pennsylvania around 202,000 people were without power. Massachusetts was the worst hit with 527,000 people having no access to power.
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Utility companies have been scrambling to get power back on for the millions of people stranded, however, companies have warned that people could be left without services for up to a week.
Although the storm was harsh, temperatures are expected to rise in the coming days and the snow expected to melt away.
However, many snow-inundated communities are suggesting that parents wait until temperatures rise and snow melts before they send their children out for Halloween festivities.
Mayor Mark Boughton of Danbury Connecticut told Fox News, “With snow many wires down…the sidewalks will not be safe for pedestrians (Monday) night.”
Boughton added, “We have 200 streets with wires down … (we) would hate to have children hurt.”
Berkshire County in Massachusetts was hit the hardest in the storm, with 32 inches of snow having culminated during the rare storm.
Genevieve Murphy, a 92-year-old native of Westfield, Massachusetts told WWLP-TV, “I have never seen this and I’ve lived here all my life, and that’s more than 90 years.”
Concerns prior to the storm were that the projected heavy snow could cause power outages and damage the trees in the region, most of which still have leaves on them.
In Pennsylvania, an 80-year-old man was killed as he was napping when a tree, heavy with snow, fell onto his home.
Snow this early is in the year is rare, even for the frigid East Coast. Thus, people living along the East Coast have expressed concerns that the harsh storm may mean that winter could be particularly harsh and long this year.
However, weather experts suggest that the weekend storm does not necessarily signal that coming months will be accompanied with terrible weather.
