The U.S. Northeast struggled to dig out on Sunday (February 15, 2015) from the latest in a series of winter storms but bitter cold and huge drifts hampered the effort.
Blizzard conditions forced the cancellation of more than 1,800 U.S. airline flights; most of them into and out of airports in Boston and New York, where wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour (97 kph) were predicted.
Temperatures are 25 to 30 degrees (14 to 17 degrees Celsius) below normal for the East Coast, exacerbated by strong winds, according to the weather service.
In Chicago, Lake-effect snow caused slippery conditions on some area roadways close to Lake Michigan, causing multiple accidents including a 38 car pile up on the Kennedy Expressway, causing it to shut down.
“The fire department had 12 transports, including one CFD member that tripped and fell. They have all gone to different hospitals. And roughly we had about 75 personnel on the scene working this multi-vehicle accident,” said Dan Hroma, Chicago Fire Department’s District Chief.
None of the injuries were life-threatening.
(Reuters)