THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 6, 1997 TAG: 9701060049
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
LENGTH: 96 lines
Snow buried the upper Midwest, floods turned more Californians into water refugees, fog delayed flights in the Northeast, and the death toll from brutal cold in Europe continued to rise Sunday.
In Hampton Roads, forecasters saw a quick end to springlike temperatures.
In the upper Midwest, blowing, drifting snow shut down major highways for a second day Sunday with drifts reported up to 10 feet high.
Snowbound motorists crowded motels and truck stops in Minnesota and eastern North and South Dakota, waiting out the storm that dumped as much as 21 inches of snow and piled it up with wind gusting past 40 mph.
The storm struck Saturday and began winding down on Sunday, allowing crews to reopen some major highways, but hundreds of miles of Interstates 90, 29 and 94 remained shut down in the three states.
Three traffic deaths were blamed on the storm in South Dakota, and one man fell to his death in Minnesota while clearing snow from his roof.
Brilliant sunshine broke across Northern California on Sunday as the surge of water pouring out of the mountains breached more levees and turned more people into refugees.
Many of the 125,000 people forced from their homes last week were returning as local officials lifted older evacuation orders, said state emergency official Steve Martarano. In Marysville, 13,000 residents were told Sunday they could leave shelters and trek back home.
But some were told they might not be able to return home for as long as two months.
And about 2,000 were ordered to evacuate during the night from the town of Meridian, along the Sacramento River near hard-hit Yuba City.
Besides some 3,000 people already ordered to evacuate in the Central Valley city of Modesto, authorities on Sunday told residents to leave an additional 100 homes in the Weatherbee Lake area.
As much as 40 inches of rain fell on the region last week, while rising temperatures melted dense snow in the Sierra Nevada, and snow and rain also devastated areas of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and western Nevada.
California rivers continued surging Sunday as upstream dams were opened to make room in reservoirs for still more runoff water.
President Clinton had issued disaster declarations for large parts of California, Idaho and Nevada.
Four deaths had been blamed on the flooding and storms in California, in addition to 15 in Washington, five in Idaho and three in Oregon. One man was missing and presumed dead in Nevada.
Crews were working to repair highways and railroads devastated by the flooding.
In the Northeast, thick fog virtually shut down Boston's Logan Airport on Sunday as college students and other travelers were returning from extended holiday vacations. Fog also affected airports in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
Air traffic controllers in Boston declared a ground hold at 11:45 a.m., limiting landings to airplanes with sophisticated instrument systems. That meant only two or three flights per hour were landing through the afternoon.
Dozens of cancellations were reported at New York's Kennedy Airport, and there were delays of up to 60 minutes in departures and arrivals at La Guardia and Newark airports.
At Philadelphia International Airport, most fog delays were minor, said spokesman Mark Pesce.
In Europe, the death toll from the longest cold spell in a decade passed 230.
French trains were diverted to pick up stranded skiers and German rail stations converted to homeless shelters Sunday.
Seven more deaths were reported across the region and weather forecasters said a new blast of frigid air would hit today.
In Britain, police recovered six bodies from snow and ice.
France's second week of freezing weather has downed phone lines and left nearly 30 people dead.
In southeastern France where more snow fell Sunday, some 12,000 homes were without electricity and 5,000 without phones.
In Germany, the cold wave's death toll rose to about 40 over the weekend.
In Hampton Roads, a return to more seasonal weather is at hand.
After luxuriating through several days that brought highs in the 70s - including 71 on Sunday - today's high is not expected to get past 55. And freezing temperatures are possible overnight.
By Tuesday, daytime highs will be in the 40s - where they traditionally are in January. MEMO: This story was compiled from reports by The Associated Press and
staff writer Steve Stone.
1996: A memorable year of weather/B1 ILLUSTRATION: An overturned truck blocked traffic on Interstate 90
near Rushmore, Minn.
A rancher tries to save dairy cattle from the flooded Tuolumne River
near Modesto, Calif.
Fog partially obscured a win by the New England Patriots and delayed
flights at Boston's Logan Airport.