ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, November 12, 1996 TAG: 9611120104
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CLEVELAND
SOURCE: Associated Press
A storm made the Great Lakes states look like a Christmas card not two weeks past Halloween, leaving up to 2 1/2 feet of snow Monday and catching some people off guard without shovels or other winter survival tools.
Leaves weren't even off all the trees yet, and that combined with the heavy, wet snow to drag down power lines over the weekend. Tens of thousands of people were still without electricity Monday.
``It's really rough, this early in the season,'' said Dianne Strasshofer, as she brushed snow off her coat in a mall.
A Delta Airlines jet slid off a snow-covered runway at Cleveland's airport, mimicking an incident the night before involving an American Airlines jet. No injuries were reported in either landing.
``Pretty much the same as yesterday,'' police Sgt. Robert Csongedi said Monday. ``Icy conditions, slid off the end. They're working to get it out of the mud.''
The ``lake effect'' storm, feeding on moisture from the Great Lakes, dumped more than 2 feet of snow on northeastern Ohio beginning Saturday. Chardon, about 20 miles east of the city, had 2 1/2 feet by noon Monday.
Flakes continued falling in Cleveland, and forecasters said an additional 20 inches were possible in parts of northeastern Ohio by this morning.
Munising, on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, had 27 inches by midday, and Hurley, Wis., had 29 inches. At the eastern end of Lake Ontario, up to 18 inches fell on northern New York.
``It is nice to have it for Christmas, but not now,'' said 80-year-old Delia Johnson, looking out her window in Hurley, where nearly 25 feet of snow fell last winter and wasn't all gone until May.
``It seems like every year it either gets earlier or I'm getting older. I'm not sure which,'' said Janelle Bettinger at the Silver Mine Restaurant in Sandy Creek, N.Y., about 30 miles from Syracuse.
One traffic death in Ohio was blamed on snow-slippery roads, and Wisconsin reported eight weather-related highway fatalities.
``I don't ever remember seeing things like this until about January,'' said Donna Asbury of Proctorville, Ohio, after a slow commute to work at Barboursville, W.Va.
City crews in Erie, Pa,. which had more than 20 inches by Monday, had to stop their autumn leaf pickups so they could outfit their trucks with plows.
Many snow belt residents were blase.
``Well, it's not pleasant, especially since it's a bit early, but it's Cleveland,'' resident Roger Moore said with a shrug.
It's too early to tell how bad it will get this winter, forecasters said, but this much snow has caught peoples' attention.
``What worries me the most is that it probably means we'll have a really bad winter,'' said Kim Warren, 38, of Cleveland, as she trudged along a snow-covered sidewalk.
``We are selling out of all kinds of winter-related items,'' said Lois Stiverson, manager of Bostwick's True Value Hardware in Chardon. ``That includes snow shovels, lamp oil and wicks, batteries, snow blowers, kerosene heaters, and, if we had them, we could sell lots of generators.''
About 62,000 customers of Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. remained without power Monday in northeastern Ohio, down from 180,000 Sunday.
Sunday, an American Airlines jet arriving from sunny Burbank, Calif., slid off a snow-covered runway at the Cleveland airport. No injuries were reported among the 121 people on board.
About 30 miles to the east, the roof of the Faith Baptist Church in Perry Township collapsed under the weight of the snow. No one was inside at the time.
Not everyone was depressed by the early demonstration of winter weather.
``I think it's beautiful,'' said Evelyn Franko, 27. ``And it's just typical Cleveland for it to get here early and stay late.''
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. A pickup truck negotiates a Christmas-card landscapeby CNBMonday near Bainbridge, Ohio. The Cleveland area has had 2 feet of
snow since Saturday, and it keeps coming. color.