2nd Round Of Snow Moves In, Hundreds Of Flights Cancelled
PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) - With round one of Mother Nature's wrath out of the way, round two of the winter storm has started wreaking havoc in the region.
The storm started in many areas early Wednesday and created a morning rush-hour nightmare.
Just after 9 p.m., Philadelphia School Officials announced that "Due to the inclement weather, all (public and archdiocesan) School District of Philadelphia schools and administrative offices will be closed on Thursday, January 27."
High winds are also expected, and a winter storm warning is in effect for many areas.
Right around the evening rush-hour, the second wave of the storm moved in and intensified.
Between the hours of 7 p.m. Wednesday and 2 a.m. on Thursday, snow is expected to fall about a half-inch per hour. Strong winds and reduced visibility will also become factors.
Philadelphia, its surrounding suburbs, and parts of interior New Jersey could get between 6 to 12 inches of snow. Areas like Allentown and Reading are expected to get between 4 to 8 inches. Parts of extreme southern New Jersey will see less snow.
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The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has temporarily reduced the speed limit on a number of major highways in the Philadelphia area due to the winter storm.
PennDOT says the speed limit will be 45 mph on interstates 76, 95, 476 and 676 in the Philadelphia area. The 45 mph limit will also be in effect on Route 1 and the Roosevelt Extension, the Route 30 bypass, and routes 202, 422, 63 and 309. The speed limit was also reduced to 45 mph on I-81 in Allentown.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike earlier imposed a 45 mph speed limit on much of the main turnpike and much of the I-476 Northeastern Extension.
The storm has also prompted the cancellation of about 477 flights at Philadelphia International Airport, about 41 percent of Wednesday's scheduled arrivals and departures
Nicole (no last name given) is a native of Ambler, Pa., but now lives in San Francisco. She was in Philadelphia for a medical school interview and is worried she won't be able to get back home as planned.
Her flight was supposed to leave tonight, but the forecast for the second part of the storm got her to the airport early to try to get on an earlier flight to the West Coast.
"It's been tough," she said. "A lot of lines, a lot of people trying to get where they're trying to be. I have work tomorrow, and it's important I get back out, but it's been a challenge so far."
Bob, of Washington Crossing, in Bucks County, came out to the airport early Wednesday morning to pick up a flight to the midwest.
"I knew the storm was coming, but I thought it would come a little later than it did," he told KYW Newsradio. "So I took a chance and got here and found out the flight was canceled."
Bob says he had a business meeting in Kansas City:
"And I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to explain why I'm not there."
KYW's John McDevitt reports that the snow was making daily routines a bit of a challenge for some in South Philadelphia.
Many people along East Passyunk Avenue said they're tired of all the snow but really can't do anything about it and were going about their daily routines as much as they could.
"You got to take it as it comes," said one. "What are you gonna do? It's here, you are not going to do anything about it, you can't stop it, it's gonna come."
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Food deliveryman Joe Peri, 18 (above), of Stogie Joe's, says the weather makes his job challenging at times.
"It's hard to drive in this snow," he said. "I don't like it at all... Parking is horrible -- I've got to park my car over here and I got a ticket -- the Parking Authority doesn't give up."
But he says the tips are unbelievable because many customers feel sorry for him and give him a few extra dollars.
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And snow didn't stop 94-year-old Sarah Truscello (above right) from keeping her weekly beauty parlor appointment. Her hair stylist, Joanne Colanzi (left), walked her to the salon and back home.
SEPTA has issued the following weather update:
Bus: Due to deteriorating weather conditions, effective 10:00 pm tonight most suburban bus routes serving Delaware, Chester, Montgomery and Bucks County will be suspended, with the exception of the following bus routes: 108, 109, 113, 114, and 115 - which will continue to operate until further notice.
Effective 11:00 pm tonight the following city transit bus routes will be in service - 6, 14, 17, 21, 23, 29, 33, 42, 53, 56, 60, 66, 79, R. Routes not listed have been suspended.
The public should periodically check www.septa.org for an updated list of bus routes in service.
Market Frankford Line: Trains will replace NiteOwl bus service tonight. WestBound trains will depart Frankford Transportation Center every 20 minutes beginning at 12 AM; EastBound trains will depart 69th Street Terminal every 20 minutes beginning at 12:10 AM.
Broad Street Line: Trains will replace NiteOwl bus service tonight. SouthBound trains will depart Fern Rock every 20 minutes beginning at 12 AM; NorthBound trains will depart AT&T Station every 20 minutes beginning at 12:15 AM.
Regional Rail: All lines are on-time or experiencing only minor delays of less than 10 minutes.
(TM and © Copyright 2010 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
