More snow to hit storm-battered east coast

WASHINGTON (AFP) - – The US east coast was on Tuesday bracing braced for a new major winter storm after record snowfall left thousands shivering in the dark without power, with transportation paralyzed and the federal government shut down.

The Wasghington DC remained largely snow-locked, while many local governments, businesses and schools were also closed across the mid-Atlantic region.

The National Weather Service issued a 30-hour winter storm warning beginning midday on Tuesday for Washington, Maryland and parts of Virginia, saying it expects another 10 to 20 inches (25-50 cm) of snow to cover the area.

"The combination of snow and strong winds will make travel very hazardous," said the NWS in its advisory.

The extra squall would be on top of more than two feet (0.6 m) of snow around metropolitan Washington and Baltimore, and also comes after the massive December storm that dumped some two feet (61 centimeters) of snow in the area: meaning the region is coming up on the other historic seasonal totals.

With this season's total so far at 45 inches (114 cm), according to NWS figures, more snowfall in the coming days could peak out the 1995-96 season's 46 inches (116.8 cm) and the all-time deepest snowfall of 1898-99, at 54.4 inches (138 cm).

Washington residents were struggling to get to work, with people slipping on the ice and cars wheel-spinning in the snow as hundreds of emergency personnel battled to clear the roads.

"This snow is so deep and so heavy that the traditional snow plows can't shovel in some areas. So bulldozers are physically having to lift it up and away," Laura Southard from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management told AFP.

In places, the weight of the snow caused roofs to collapse, including at a firehouse in northern Virginia and a hangar for private aircraft at Dulles International Airport.

Many of those without power gathered in restaurants and coffee shops on major avenues where power often was restored first. Some residents of suburban Washington spent two days huddled at businesses, unable to go home.

Downtown Washington was not as hard hit by power outages but public transportation remained snarled.

Local officials warned that snow plows might not reach many smaller streets before the second storm hits.

"This is really challenging for us, and will continue to be a challenge for most of the week," said Southard.

Even though the blizzard has moved away, unmasking a bright blue sky, it continued to take victims.

Two men were found dead in a car in the town of Bladensburg, Maryland on Sunday, The Washington Post reported. Officials believe they suffered carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of sitting in a closed vehicle without ventilation.

Six other people who also appeared to be suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning were rescued from a house in the Washington suburb of Oxon Hill on Sunday, the paper added.

The culprit appeared to have been a gasoline generator used inside the house after the power went out.

The deepest snow left by "Snowmageddon" was in the small town of Colesville, central Maryland, which was buried in 40 inches (101 centimeters) of snow, the National Weather Service said.

Service slowly resumed on Metro trains, although above-ground rail travel remained suspended, depriving people in the suburbs of their main means of commuting. Cancelled bus services also began operating on a limited schedule.

Washington's Reagan National Airport was closed for snow and ice removal, and then reopened. although officials warned many flights may be canceled or delayed. Other local airports were also open.

But life was gradually returning to normal as residents dug out cars and cleared driveways.

Boris Ruhadze, 24, was stuck at the International House of Pancakes in Rockville, Maryland from Friday afternoon until Monday morning.

"We slept on the benches in some of the booths, in a part of the restaurant they closed off. The line was out the door on Friday, and even worse on Saturday as people lost power," Ruhadze said.