Weather

Early storm freezes travel in U.S.; 8 die

The toll of a surprising winter storm that dumped nearly a foot of snow in the Northeast and was blamed for eight deaths extended well beyond the freeze zone Saturday, stranding hundreds of people trying to fly out of Tampa.

Dozens of flights in and out of Tampa International Airport were canceled Saturday. More traveling chaos is expected today as passengers stuck in Florida on Saturday join the normal Sunday crowds and cruise ship passengers scheduled to fly home.

"Sunday already is a busy travel day for us," said Kenneth Johnson, assistant director of operations at TIA. "It's probably going to be a madhouse."

Passengers were advised to call airlines for flight information.

The storm buried many parts of the Northeast and affected millions of people. In addition to grounded flights, school districts postponed SAT college exams and many sporting events were delayed or rescheduled.

The eight deaths were all travel related: one in Pennsylvania, one in Connecticut and two each in New Jersey, Vermont and Virginia.

Getting around the region was difficult, at best. By early afternoon, the traffic on many highways in New Jersey and Connecticut, on Long Island and along the Southern Tier of New York had slowed to a crawl. Hundreds of accidents were reported.

Snow fell at about an inch an hour in Binghamton, N.Y., and the National Weather Service issued blizzard warnings for parts of Maine, Connecticut, southeastern New York and New Jersey.

Meteorologists warned that as much as 2 feet of snow was possible by today in parts of Massachusetts and Vermont. A foot of snow already had fallen by midday Saturday in western Maryland and northern New Jersey.

"What we're seeing now is the tip of the iceberg," meteorologist Roger Hill of Worcester, Vt., said Saturday morning. "The beast is going to be here shortly."

Called a classic Nor'easter, the massive storm pummeled 12 states from Virginia to Maine. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said hundreds of flights were canceled through the morning at LaGuardia, Kennedy and Newark Liberty international airports, and more were expected as the storm continued. Of the more than 800 landings and departures scheduled Saturday at Boston's Logan airport, 325 were canceled by midday, spokesman Phil Orlandella said.

"There has not been a storm of this magnitude in New York this early in the season since record-keeping began in 1869," said Todd Miner, a meteorologist at Pennsylvania State University.

At TIA, 38 flights were canceled by midnight Saturday. Operations were running smoothly at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, with no serious delays, according to airport officials.

Some stranded passengers walked to the Marriott inside the TIA terminal, which was fully booked Saturday. "Good for us, bad for them," said Abeer Karonawetter, food and beverage director for the hotel.

For Dan Delia and seven members of his Long Island, N.Y., family, the delay was wearying. "We've spent a fortune on airport food," he said. "And we're starting to get tired."

The family had to rent two cars to drive from Orlando International Airport, where they had two Delta flights canceled, to Tampa, where they were told they could catch another flight. When they got to the airport about 5:30 p.m., they missed a JetBlue flight by 10 minutes.

So they had to stay overnight to catch a 9 a.m. flight today.

Delia's wife, Dolores, complained to a Delta representative.

"I don't think I should pay $100 a night for a hotel room," she said on the phone. "This is your screw-up, not mine. I want a room for $50 a night."

About 30 minutes later, she beamed, having secured a room at the Radisson for $45.

"What do you know?" she said. "They were able to give me a good rate."

Delta and American Air Lines representatives said they offered room discounts at area hotels.

In New England, ski area businesses were cheerful.

"The parking lots are full right now. It feels like a midwinter weekend," said Mike Colbourn, vice president of marketing for Vermont's Stowe Mountain Resort.

Bruce Springsteen's Saturday night Christmas concert at Asbury Park, N.J., the seaside resort where he rose to fame, was called off until Monday.

Friday's Springsteen show went on as scheduled but there were a few empty seats. "I don't know how you got here, but I'm glad you did," he told the hundreds of fans.

- Times staff writers Maureen Byrne Ahern and Michael Van Sickler contributed to this report. Information from the Associated Press and New York Times also was used.

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