Wild Weather

[Shammu]

Southern California Snow Strands Hundreds
Heavy Snow Halts Traffic In Mountains North Of Los Angeles

Al Gore's global warming sure is snowin' cold. 

[Soldier4Christ]

Yeah and he had the nerve to come out today with a stupid statement that climate change was happening faster than originally thought. He said that the North Pole will be completely melted in the summer time in 5 years because of man made CO2.

The melting ice cap has nothing to do with volcanic activity causing warmer oceans. 

[Def]

Yeah and he had the nerve to come out today with a stupid statement that climate change was happening faster than originally thought. He said that the North Pole will be completely melted in the summer time in 5 years because of man made CO2.

The melting ice cap has nothing to do with volcanic activity causing warmer oceans. 

HAHAHAhahahaaaaaaaa  It is very cold  HAHAHAhahaaaaaaaaaa
that was just to warm me up..bye bye

[Soldier4Christ]

Snow strands 500,000 at 1 train station
Police bark orders through bullhorns to try to maintain order

MORE than 500,000 travellers found themselves stranded in and around a Chinese city's train station yesterday, as blizzards and ice storms created a transport crisis ahead of the country's New Year celebrations.
The travellers, most of them migrant workers, were stuck in Guangzhou after heavy snowfalls to the north cut off parts of the busy line that starts in the city and ends in Beijing.

Officials were scrambling to prevent riots and find temporary shelter in schools and convention centres for the crowd, which has swollen each day as more workers tried to return to their home towns for the Chinese New Year.

The holiday, which begins on 7 February, is as important in China as Christmas is in the West. For many migrants, it is the only chance to visit their families, and they stay away for weeks.

At Guangzhou's main station yesterday, a massive outdoor plaza was packed with people pulling luggage or lifting it over their heads. The crowd eventually spilled out on to a major road in front of the station, and it had to be blocked off to create more space for the travellers.

The workers created small camps with their suitcases, bundles and plastic bags full of snacks. They littered the ground with chicken bones, sunflower seed shells and cigarette butts as they patiently waited for their trains.

Radio announcements told people not to go to the station, which will not sell tickets again until 7 February. State-run newspapers ran headlines urging the migrants to seek ticket refunds and stay put for the holiday.

Li Moming, 48, a construction worker, spent the night on the street, enduring a bone-chilling drizzle. The train that was to take him to his home village in central Henan province – 20 hours away – was cancelled. He said his next move might be to scrap his travel plans and spend the holiday in his dormitory room at his work. "I thought about taking a bus, but the highways are shut down, too. Oh well, what can you do?" said a jovial Mr Li, dressed
in a mud-splattered brown pinstripe suit for his ill-fated return journey home.

Nearby, four women who work in a digital camera factory in Foshan, just outside Guangzhou, were taking turns holding a colleague's seven-month-old daughter. The child, bundled up in a fleece jumper and knitted cap, spent the night with them on the street outside the station.

The baby's mother, who would only give her surname, Yang, said her morning train had been cancelled. She and her friends were hanging around and hoping they would get on a later train to their home town in neighbouring Jiangxi province.

"There's no reason to get upset about this or blame anyone," Ms Yang said. "It's just the weather's fault."

Other migrant workers were just as stoic – an approach to life they've learned from living on the bottom rung of China's society, with constant hardship, long delays and disappointment.

[Shammu]

Snow blankets Jerusalem in Mideast freeze

Blankets of snow brought the Holy City of Jerusalem and other cities across the Middle East grinding to a halt on Wednesday as icy weather conditions gripped the mainly desert region.

Snow blocked roads to the Jordanian capital Amman and schools, universities and banks were shut in the desert kingdom, while freezing winds swept through the Mediterranean island of Cyprus and severe storms battered much of Lebanon.

Beirut was hit by torrential downpours and hailstorms on Wednesday, while heavy snow blocked roads in mountainous regions.

Residents of the region, more used to heat than freezing temperatures, complained about the cold, but weather forecasters welcomed both snow and rain to replenish almost empty dams and reservoirs.

In Beirut, one security official also welcomed the cold snap and rain saying it could at least discourage a repeat of deadly riots that shook the capital last weekend.

In Syria snow fell overnight on the capital Damascus, taking temperatures seven degrees Celsius (up to 12 Fahreinheit) below seasonal norms. State television reported the closure of secondary roads in the south of the country.

The first snowfall of the year covered Jerusalem -- and its famed Dome of the Rock in the heart of the Old City -- with several centimetres (inches) of heavy snow and slush.

The streets of the Holy City were deserted during the normally hectic morning rush-hour, with few cars on the roads and isolated pedestrians making their way through the puddles of slush and snow on the sidewalks.

Classes were cancelled and public transport was not operating on a normal schedule.

"It was very difficult to get to work. Cars were sliding on the road," Aid Lezy, a 29-year-old bank worker, told AFP as she queued for coffee at one of the few cafes open in central Jerusalem.

Ravit and Motti Fitousi travelled together with their three children from the coastal town of Rishon Letzion, south of Tel Aviv, to see the snow.

"We come to Jerusalem every time it snows. We love it and the kids get a day off school," said Ravit, as the family played in the 6-7 centimetres (more than two inches) of snow on the ground at Sakher park in the centre of Jerusalem.

Schools and offices were closed, as snowploughs cleared the streets. Most shops and schools also stayed closed in the nearby West Bank town of Ramallah.

Jordan's government declared Wednesday a public holiday because of the freeze. Delays hit Amman international airport but it remained open despite heavy snow since the early morning, according to a Royal Jordanian spokesman.

Meteorologists expected the cold front that hit Jordan and other regional countries to last at least through Thursday.

Snow covered high-lying areas of western Amman, which is built on seven hills with the highest point at 1,100 metres (3,630 feet), trapping residents at home in many high-altitude areas.

Several centimetres of snow largely paralysed the capital and officials urged people "to stay home and refrain from driving except for emergencies," the state-run Petra news agency reported.

Jordan is one of the 10 most water impoverished countries in the world, and the country depends on rain and snow to meets its needs.

In Iran, which is more accustomed to a wintery chill, snow fell on southern parts of the country earlier this week.

In the normally sunny tourist island of Cyprus, thick snow fell on the Troodos mountains, but temperatures ranged from five degrees Celsius (41 Fahrenheit) inland to nine degrees (48 Fahrenheit) on the coast.

The Cyprus Mail told its readers in a frontpage headline they were "in the grip of an icy freeze."

Snow blankets Jerusalem in Mideast freeze

[Soldier4Christ]

Trains freed from snowy California mountains
Winter storms on both sides of country make for miserable travel

A passenger train stuck overnight in the Northern California mountains resumed its journey Saturday after a snow plow that was blocking the tracks was removed, officials said.

Two Amtrak trains with about 400 passengers were initially stranded after the accident Friday. One train was pulled to Reno, Nevada, and its 165 passengers were put up in a hotel, Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero said.

The other train, which was headed from Emeryville to Chicago, remained in the mountains until the tracks were cleared Saturday morning.
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About 60 passengers from the second train were taken by bus back to the San Francisco Bay area overnight, while 155 stayed on board to wait for the line to reopen, Romero said.

The train had heating and lights and passengers were given food, Romero said. No injuries were reported.

The train was scheduled to arrive in Chicago Monday morning about 16 hours behind schedule.

A Union Pacific spokeswoman, Zoe Richmond, confirmed that the company's equipment was blocking the tracks but had no other information.


Storms sock both sides of country
Winter storms at both ends of the country dumped snow and snarled air and land travel, killing at least 10 people and blocking major highways.

Nearly 7.5 inches of snow was reported at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport before the front moved out of the area Friday. About 500 flights were canceled at O'Hare, which canceled 600 flights Thursday and housed hundreds of stranded travelers who spent the night awaiting planes from other cities also affected by the storm.

At least 12 inches of snow was reported in Springfield by Friday morning, said National Weather Service meteorologist Gino Izzi. Other parts of Illinois saw similar amounts.

"If you don't have to be out here, don't," Ty Wilson, a very wet Chicago bicycle messenger, said as he stopped along a slushy street between morning deliveries.

The storm brought snow, freezing rain and sleet to the Northeast, where arriving flights at Newark Liberty Airport were delayed as long as three hours Friday afternoon. Arrivals were delayed by 2 1/2 hours at La Guardia Airport, two hours at Philadelphia International and an hour and a half at New York's Kennedy, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's Web site.

At least four people died Friday on ice-slicked New York state roads. Six people died on Illinois roads Thursday and Friday.

Another storm system made roads impassible in parts of the Pacific Northwest. In Washington state, Interstate 90 was reopened Saturday morning after being closed for three days because of the avalanche danger at the Snoqualmie Pass in the Cascade Range.

[Soldier4Christ]

Death, chaos in blizzard Britain 
Blast of wintry weather strands hundreds of motorists, cuts power to thousands

EMERGENCY services were at full stretch yesterday coping with the devastation caused by a blast of wintry weather that stranded hundreds of motorists, cut power to thousands and brought havoc to shipping.

At least one person died as a result of the weather that brought sub-zero temperatures, gales and blizzards across large parts of Britain.

A 20-year-old mother was killed near Aberdeen after the car she was travelling in with her young daughter and boyfriend flipped over on an icy road on Friday night.

More than 45,000 homes were without electricity in the northeast, Yorkshire and Lincoln-shire following strong winds on Friday, although by last night fewer than 1,000 were still in darkness.

Coastguards were involved in three shipping dramas hundreds of miles apart. The injured skipper of the Horn Cliff, which was taking a cargo of fruit from the Caribbean to Dover when it was hit by 30ft swells 200 miles off the Isles of Scilly, was successfully airlifted to hospital by the RAF.

The captain, a Lithuanian who had suffered spinal injuries after apparently being crushed by crates of melons and bananas, was taken to the Royal Cornwall hospital in Truro where he was recovering last night.

Six other crew members and passengers were also airlifted to safety before the Horn Cliff managed to reach the harbour at Falmouth.

The owners of the Riverdance ferry, which ran aground near Blackpool’s beach resort after being hit by a freak wave on Thursday, said two heavy trucks of salvage equipment would soon arrive from Holland to help to inspect the vessel.

A spokesman for Riverdance’s owners, Seatruck, said the first priority was to remove the vessel’s 150 tons of fuel to avoid the possibility of pollution. Weather conditions mean it could be a week before the boat is refloated.

There were also fears last night that a Spanish-crewed trawler that had foundered off St Kilda in the Outer Hebrides on Friday could pose an environmental hazard if the rats believed to be on board reached shore.

Susan Bain, of the National Trust for Scotland, said that rodents from the Spinning Dale, which is resting on rocks, could threaten the seabirds’ eggs on the island, which is free of ground-based predators.

St Kilda, which is home to many species including puffins, gannets and guillemots, is the most important seabird breeding station in northwest Europe. The trust has now launched its “emergency rat procedure”, which involves activating rat traps to catch any of the animals that manage to make it past the coast.

National Trust experts will also visit the island to lay down a chocolate-flavoured wax bait.

The rescue and clean-up operations were helped yesterday by slightly warmer weather. Forecasters said that temperatures in Scotland had reached –11C on Friday and winds of up to 70mph were recorded.

Heavy rain and gales are predicted for today, particularly in the west.

One of the worst affected areas has been the A66 between Cumbria and Co Durham, which was closed on Friday after blizzards made driving impossible. Police rescued 200 stranded motorists, including a coachload of pensioners. A group of 30 primary schoolchildren from Co Durham were forced to spend the night at an adventure centre in Alston in Cumbria after their route was also cut off.

The mission to rescue the captain of the Horn Cliff had begun on Friday but the severity of the weather and the distance of the ship from land meant that the attempt to winch him to safety by helicopter had to be postponed until yesterday morning.

A paramedic was eventually winched down from an RAF helicopter and the captain, who had also suffered internal injuries, was airlifted together with five passengers and one other member of the crew, two of whom had minor head and hand injuries.

It is thought they were injured while trying to secure the load of 130 crates of fruit, which came loose during the force nine gales on Friday. All but 40 of the crates fell over the side.

Flight Lieutenant Jonathan Singh, who took part in the rescue, described the conditions as “horrendous”. He said: “It was obviously pitch black out there. The sea swell was probably between 35ft and 40ft and because the vessel had suffered some power failure it was unable to manoeuvre.”

Dahne Carstensen, 64, a German who was one of the rescued passengers, was on the Horn Cliff as part of his honeymoon with his wife Suzanne. “I’m a sailor so for my honeymoon I wanted to travel by cargo ship with bananas from the Caribbean. I guess it didn’t go so well,” he said.

His wife Suzanne, 50, added: “I thought it was our last moment of life.”

[Soldier4Christ]

China warns worst not over in weather crisis

China warned Saturday the worst was not over in its national weather crisis as desperate holiday travellers jammed transport hubs and others endured bitter winter storms without power or water.

Bracing for still more freezing weather and an accelerating travel rush, China has doubled the number of troops and paramilitary forces aiding winter storm relief efforts to more than a million, state media reported.

The worst winter in five decades has caused massive transport bottlenecks and power outages across huge areas in the lead-up to next week's Lunar New Year, China's biggest annual holiday.

The China Meteorological Administration said some of the worst-affected central, eastern and southern provinces could face another week of snow and freezing rain from a cold front parked over the region since early January.

"The most difficult period is still not over yet. The situation remains grim," Premier Wen Jiabao said during a Cabinet meeting, state media outlets reported.

The government also repeated a plea to millions of people to shelve their travel plans as the country entered the peak holiday travel period, with New Year celebrations beginning on February 7.

In the southern city of Guangzhou, about 2,000 police struggled to hold back hundreds of thousands of people who have gathered every day for a week outside the main railway station, surging forward at the merest hint of an opening to a train platform.

One woman was killed after being knocked to the ground during a stampede at the station on Friday, Xinhua said. Some 1.4 million people were waiting to leave the industrial city by train on Friday, the railways ministry said.

Factory worker Fang Yu has fought for two days to get in the station after the throng forced him to miss an earlier train to his home province of Hunan.

"I really want to go in, but it's getting very dangerous. If I don't make it by tomorrow I might just give up," he told AFP over the din of the crowd.

Airports in large cities such as Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanchang and Changsha, which had reopened, were forced into a new round of flight cancellations and delays Saturday as they de-iced planes, state Xinhua news agency said.

More freezing rain overnight also caused new closures on key highways in Guangdong and Hunan provinces in southern China, said state television, showing images of endless lines of traffic at a standstill on icy roads.

About 180 million people were expected to travel home for Lunar New Year in what is thought to be the largest annual human migration in the world.

"(The government) has less than five days left to safely send hundreds of millions home. At the same time, they will have to ensure timely delivery of coal to coal-starved power plants," a China Daily editorial said, summing up a key quandary facing authorities.

The government said it has pressed more than 1,000 additional trains into service to cope with the huge passenger demand and maintain shipments of coal -- the country's main energy source -- amid widespread power blackouts.

A woman in the city of Chenzhou in hard-hit Hunan told AFP by phone the city of four million had been without electricity or running water for over a week.

"We light candles for dinner, burn coal for heating, and get water from wells," said the woman, who gave only her surname, Li.

"If we can hold on, it will be a special Lunar New Year," she joked.

State electricity officials said Chenzhou's power should be at least partially restored later Saturday.

The big freeze has caused 7.5 billion dollars in damage, killed at least 60 people and affected at least 105 million more in the nation of 1.3 billion, according to official figures.

More than one million troops and paramilitary forces have been mobilised to help move snow and ice from roads and power lines as well as maintain security.

Two military transport planes and the first of six helicopters loaded with relief supplies were deployed to hardhit areas on Saturday, Xinhua said.

[Soldier4Christ]

Tornadoes rake U.S. south, at least 20 dead
Wed Feb 6, 2008 2:30am EST
 
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By Steve Barnes

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Feb 6 (Reuters) - Tornadoes and thunderstorms ravaged four states in the American South on Tuesday night, killing at least 20 people, injuring dozens and causing widespread damage, emergency services and local media said.

The violent storms swept across Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi, overturning trucks, trapping people, and smashing houses.

Two of the states hit by the tornadoes -- Arkansas and Tennessee -- were involved in "Super Tuesday" as a total of 24 states across the country held nominating contests ahead of November's presidential election.

Several candidates expressed condolences to the victims as they addressed supporters and there were media reports that at least four polling stations in western Tennessee were closed because of the storm.

In Arkansas, emergency services reported 11 dead after tornadoes hit as many as eight counties.

"It's a pretty rough night in the scope of it. I don't know if I can remember when we've had as many (tornado) warnings and touchdowns," Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, said a telephone interview from an emergency operations center in North Little Rock.

The governor's spokesman, Matt DeCample, said there was "no clue" as to how many were injured. "We're getting answers back in the multiples, but we're still looking for folks," he said.

In Kentucky, at least three people were killed at a mobile home park, the Louisville Courier-Journal newspaper reported.

Six more died in Tennessee, according to the Nashville Tennessean newspaper, and more than two dozen others were injured, some critically.

WIDESPREAD DAMAGE

Extensive damage in Tennessee included part of a shopping mall in Memphis and a dormitory at Union University in Jackson, where some students were trapped for a time but not seriously injured, according to the Web site of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. The newspaper quoted a National Weather Service spokesman as saying the Memphis area had been hit by a "pretty significant tornado."

CNN reported as many as 86 injuries and an unknown number of fatalities from the storm system, which swept through Arkansas before moving into Tennessee.

ABC affiliate WAPT in Jackson, Mississippi reported that a 50-foot (15-metre) wall had collapsed at the Sears store in the Hickory Ridge Mall in southeast Memphis and a building caught fire along State Line Road at Airways Boulevard.

Citing local officials, WAPT reported that an unknown number of people were trapped in a nearby industrial plant.

The Jackson Sun reported that a nursing home had been seriously damaged but the 114 residents were evacuated with no injuries reported.

The Nashville Tennessean newspaper, citing the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, said one man had been found dead north of Somerville, Tennessee.

The paper reported that the National Weather Service had recorded a half dozen tornadoes in Tennessee and northern Mississippi.

It also reported that 60 tractor-trailers had crashed on an interstate highway.

[Soldier4Christ]

Deadly tornadoes wreak havoc in the South

ATKINS, Ark. - Authorities went door-to-door trying to find additional victims of tornadoes that killed at least 44 people, ripped the roof off a shopping mall and blew apart warehouses as they tore across four states.

The dead included 24 people in Tennessee, 13 in Arkansas, and a mother and father who died in Kentucky with their adult daughter. The total death toll in Kentucky was seven.

Those killed in Arkansas included another set of parents, who died with their 11-year-old in Atkins, about 60 miles northwest of Little Rock. The family died from trauma when the storm their home "took a direct hit" from the storm, Pope County Coroner Leonard Krout said. "Neighbors and friends who were there said, 'There used to be a home there,'" Krout said.

The twisters, which also slammed Mississippi, were part of a line of storms that raged across the nation's midsection at the end of the Super Tuesday primaries in several states. As the extent of the damage quickly became clear, candidates including Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee paused in their victory speeches to remember the victims.

Northeast of Nashville, Tenn., a spectacular fire erupted at a natural gas pumping station northeast of Nashville that authorities said could have been damaged by the storms. An undetermined number of people were reported dead.

Eight students were trapped in a battered dormitory at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., until they were finally freed.

Four more people were killed in Allen County near the Tennessee state line, said Buddy Rogers, public information officer for the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management in Frankfort.

Well after nightfall Tuesday, would-be rescuers went through shattered homes in Atkins, a town of 3,000 near the Arkansas River. Around them, power lines snaked along streets and a deep-orange pickup truck rested on its side. A navy blue Mustang with a demolished front end was marked with spray paint to show it had been searched. Outside one damaged home, horses whinnied in the darkness, looking up only when a flashlight reached their eyes. A ranch home stood unscathed across the street from a concrete slab that had supported the house where the family of three died.

Gov. Mike Beebe planned to tour Atkins on Wednesday.

In Memphis, high winds collapsed the roof of a Sears store at a mall. Debris that included bricks and air conditioning units was scattered on the parking lot, where about two dozen vehicles were damaged. A few people north of the mall took shelter under a bridge and were washed away, but they were pulled out of the Wolf River with only scrapes, said Steve Cole of the Memphis Police Department.

In Mississippi, Desoto County Sheriff's Department Cmdr. Steve Atkinson said a twister shredded warehouses in an industrial park in the city of Southaven, just south of Memphis. "It ripped the warehouses apart. The best way to describe it is it looks like a bomb went off," Atkinson said.

The power was knocked out briefly at a Little Rock convention hall that hosted a watch party for Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor seeking the GOP nomination for president. "While we hope tonight is a time for us to celebrate election results, we are reminded that nothing is as important as the lives of these fellow Arkansans, and our hearts go out to their families," Huckabee said.

[Soldier4Christ]

Midwest storm grounds flights, snarls traffic
Hundreds of motorists stranded in traffic pileup near Madison, Wisconsin

Hundreds of motorists were stranded in a massive traffic pileup on Thursday, frustrated air passengers were trying to reschedule their trips, and dozens of schools were closed as the Midwest dug out from a major snowstorm.

Meanwhile, residents around the Great Lakes nervously eyed rising rivers and braced for flooding.

In Wisconsin, traffic backed up for 19 miles south of Madison on Wednesday after semitrailer trucks got stuck on a hill. Gov. Jim Doyle later called a state of emergency, sending National Guard troops to help vehicles stuck in the jam blocking Interstate 90. Snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles were used to check on the stranded motorists and bring them food or fuel.
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As many as 800 vehicles remained stranded Thursday morning, according to Wisconsin National Guard Lt. Col. Tim Donovan. Traffic began to move by 7:30 a.m., but troopers were still working to remove semis and cars, some of whose drivers had gone to sleep.

"We've been going out knocking on cars, waking them up and getting people moving," said Lori Getter, Wisconsin Emergency Management spokeswoman.

Peter Freeman, 29, left his restaurant in Janesville Wednesday night for his 25-mile ride home. He sat in his minivan for hours waiting, listening to the radio and watching a movie on its DVD player. People in a car in front of him eventually offered up a sandwich and soda.

Emergency workers on snowmobiles came by asking whether he was OK, but they had little information about the backup, Freeman said.

"They told us to be single file and turn on our headlights and then off they went. There was no offer of food, water or blankets. Nothing," he said.

More than 200 public school districts and private schools in southeastern, central and western Michigan canceled Thursday's classes, as did many community colleges. Dozens of schools in northern and eastern New York were closed or delayed the start of classes because of icy conditions.

Flights canceled
General Mitchell International Airport at Milwaukee stopped all flights Wednesday afternoon due to whiteout conditions. More than 100 people spent the night in the concourses, airport spokesman Ryan McAdams. Air traffic resumed at 7 a.m. Thursday, although McAdams said delays were expected.

Lines at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport were long Thursday morning, a day after carriers canceled about 1,000 flights. Eighty flights were canceled Thursday morning, said Karen Pride, a spokeswoman for the Chicago Department of Aviation. About 100 passengers spent the night on cots.

No delays were reported across town at Chicago's Midway International Airport.

"Things are much improved from yesterday morning," Pride said.

Flood warnings were issued in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and New York after three days of heavy rain and melting snow. People in northwest Ohio moved to higher ground as forecasters predicted that floodwaters would continue to rise in an area still recovering from flooding five months ago.

Town fears flooding
Rising waters from the Blanchard River in Findlay, Ohio, were another blow to residents and business owners just getting their lives back to normal after flooding in August displaced hundreds and caused millions of dollars in damage.

"We had the place completely gutted," music store owner Scott Adams said as he loaded equipment into a trailer to try to keep it dry. "I don't see fixing the place again."

The river was expected to crest before 9 a.m. at 5.5 feet above flood stage, the level at which the river began flowing over its banks, city Safety Director Jim Barker said Thursday morning.

The flooding wasn't expected to be as bad as August's — the city's worst since 1913 — but firefighters evacuated a handful of residents.

Water started spilling into downtown Wednesday afternoon, forcing the city's main thoroughfare to close where several storefronts remain empty from the last flood. Within a few hours, the entire street was covered by water, and at least 100 homes had suffered some water damage, Barker said.

In northwestern Indiana's Newton County, divers spotted at least one body in a vehicle submerged underwater in a quarry. The car may have plunged into the icy water overnight, Indiana Conservation officers said. A diver was unable to open the car doors, and the recovery effort was postponed until water could be pumped out, they said.

In upstate New York, freezing rain and snow contributed to a pileup that killed one person and sent another to a hospital, authorities said. In Wisconsin, two traffic fatalities were blamed on the storm.

[Soldier4Christ]

I-90 at Snoqualmie Pass

Crews on Saturday made progress clearing debris, snow and standing water from the major highway pass through Washington's Cascade Range, with hopes of reopening it to traffic late at night.

However, the other two passes likely will remain closed into Sunday due to heavy snow.

Reopening Snoqualmie Pass on Interstate 90 would be a boost for travelers who have been unable to cross the mountains since Washington's three large passes became simultaneously closed early Friday afternoon. About 72 miles of Interstate 90 have been closed.

Avalanche control crews cleared snow and standing water from Snoqualmie Pass with a goal of reopening the road about 10 p.m. Saturday, said Meagan McFadden, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.

White Pass and Stevens Pass likely will remain closed into Sunday.

Highway 2 over Stevens Pass was closed between Leavenworth and Deception Creek. Highway 12 over White Pass was closed between Coal Creek Drive to near Wildcat Road.

"It's a little too dangerous for their crews to be out at night, so once it gets dark, they're going to stop working and reevaluate the situation in the morning," McFadden said.

Highways in Eastern Washington were all open, after blowing snow forced the closure of a number of roads on Friday. Spokane County commissioners even declared a state of emergency Friday afternoon, closing all roads in the southern and western portions of the county due to high winds and blowing snow. Blowing snow also closed several highways in the Palouse area between Pullman and Spokane.

The forecast for Eastern Washington called for more snow on Sunday. The National Weather Service also issued a winter storm watch for the western slopes of the central and north Cascades for Saturday night and Sunday. So more snow or rain could be on the way.

Since Feb. 1, 86.5 inches of snow have fallen on Snoqualmie Pass, bringing the total this winter to 416 inches. The record for winter snowfall is 696 inches of snow in 1945-50.

"And we still have three months left, because we sometimes get snow still in May," McFadden said. "As more snow falls, we get a little closer to those record years."

[Soldier4Christ]

Second-snowiest winter zaps salt budgets

Plows and salt trucks have hit village streets several times this winter already.

Much more so, in fact, than village officials estimated when the budget was approved last spring.

“We set aside $300,000 for snow removal, and we’ve almost gone through it,” village Finance Director Bob Mullins said.

He paused for a minute.

“Wait — we have gone through it,” he said.

Mullins said he moved money from other accounts to cover the shortfall this week.

“I put in another $80,000,” he said. “I think that should get us through the winter. … It won’t throw our budget off because we build in contingencies. It just means that when we move more money for snow, we won’t have money for other things.”

Moving money around to cover costs of snow removal isn’t unique to Machesney Park. Cities and towns throughout the region are near the limit or over their snow removal budgets this year.

But what a year.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Bill Nelson said the snowfall for the 2007-08 climatological winter — the months between December and February — is the second snowiest since records were compiled in Rockford.

According to Nelson’s numbers, 56.5 inches fell through Feb. 6 this year. That’s just 6.9 inches less than the all-time record of 63.4 inches that fell during the winter of 1978-79.

“And there are still three weeks to go,” Nelson said. “We might set a record. It’s very possible.”

In South Beloit, Finance Director Mike Salmons said the city was over its $40,000 snow removal budget for the year.

“But let me check, just to be sure,” he added.

You know, we’ve only spent $37,200 so far,” Salmons said. “I’m surprised. I thought for sure we’d be over budget.”

Rockton Public Works Director Gordy Nygren said he wasn’t sure how much the city has budgeted for snow removal, “but I know we’re pretty close to it.”

Village President Dale Adams said it’s not just the cost of gasoline to run plows, salt to spread on roads and cash to pay contractors.

“The overtime, I know, has to be over budget,” he said.

Still, Nygren saw a silver lining in the storm clouds.

“You know, we’re one of the only places around that still has salt,” he said. “We have about 300 tons left.”

Nygren thinks that’s enough to keep the village going until it gets another shipment.

Dan Jacobson, director of public works and development in Loves Park, doesn’t have that luxury.

“In fact, we’re sending four trucks (to Milwaukee) this weekend,” Jacobson said.

The city gets its salt from a supplier in Milwaukee, but they’ve been unable to replenish their reserves after the big snow this week.

“A lot of it has to do with transportation,” Jacobson said. “When the snow came — they had up to 20 inches in some areas up there — I-90 was backed up and (Interstate) 43, which is the route they take to get here, was impassable.”

Winnebago County might get a shipment next week to supplement its 2,500 ton stockpile, which county Engineer Joe Vanderwerff said is good for maybe four or five more snowfalls.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s 2 inches or 14 inches (of snow),” Vanderwerff said. “We use about the same amount of salt because we spread it before the snow falls, or just when it starts.”

But if the delivery doesn’t make it, the county certainly tried.

“We called as far east as New York and as far west as Overland, Kan., where the headquarters of North American Salt Co. is located,” Vanderwerff said. “But nothing was available.”

The search finally ended — or appears to have ended — 1,200 miles north in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

“We partnered with Moline (Ill.) because we knew they were looking, too,” Vanderwerff said.

“Now, nothing’s final yet, but we think we can get 3,000 tons here by rail from Saskatoon. We’re trying to work out train routes right now.”

Staff writer Mike Wiser can be reached at 815-987-1377 or mwiser@rrstar.com.

Top 10 snow winters

Data for 2007-08 snowfall is through Feb. 6.

63.4 inches    1978-79
56.5 inches    2007-08
49.9 inches    1993-94
48.9 inches    1909-10
47.3 inches    1973-74
46.4 inches    1917-18
42.8 inches    1935-36
41.0 inches    1942-43
40.3 inches    1987-88
40.2 inches    1977-78

[Soldier4Christ]

The forecast for Tuesday through Friday for this area is expected to put snowfall levels above the 1978-79 record.

[Soldier4Christ]

Toronto heading towards second snowiest winter

This winter could go down as one of the snowiest winters on record.

Environment Canada said this latest storm puts Toronto at 128 centimetres so far this winter, meaning the city has already received roughly the same amount of snow as the past two winters combined. The snowiest winter on record was over 70 years ago when over 200 centimetres fell.

680News meterologist Brian Hill predicted wet snow turning into a mixture of snow and rain on Saturday. The bigger storm will move in Tuesday, he said, bringing about 10 centimetres.

The city said the problem is that there's too much snow with nowhere to put it and it's now being trucked away.

And with every step of this latest cleanup, the city gets closer to the end of its snow clearing budget for the year.

Calls to the city's "snow-complaints line" are up 25 per cent from the last storm.