Winter storm slams US east coast
NEW YORK. February 27. KAZINFORM A strong winter storm slammed New York City and much of the US Northeast on Friday, forcing businesses, schools and transportation systems to shut down, Kazinform refers to Arab News.
Commuters struggled in the absence of suburban train and bus services into New York City, where several inches of snow accumulation and drifts of several feet snarled morning rush hour travel.
On Wall Street, workers pitched in electronically or braved the storm to get to their jobs, so trading was unlikely to take a heavy hit, observers said.
"I don't think it will affect the volume, and volumes have been light anyway," said Alan Valdes, director of floor trading at Kabrik Trading. "I would guess volumes would be light whether it was sunny and in the 70s or not." The wintry blast, which began on Thursday and was predicted to last through Saturday, was the third heavy storm to hit the region in a month.
Bond trading was light due to the inclement weather, said William Larkin, fixed income portfolio manager at Cabot Money Management in Salem, Massachusetts.
Parts of Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey, upstate New York and Massachusetts could expect snow accumulations of as much as two feet, the National Weather Service said.
The storm was moving very slowly and was expected to hover over the Northeast through Saturday, the NWS said.
The impact of the bad winter weather could be felt throughout a US economy still struggling to emerge from recession.
Among the storm's casualties, a man was struck and killed by a snow-laden tree limb that fell in Central Park on Thursday, authorities said. The roof of a home in suburban New Jersey collapsed under the heavy snow, and a snowplow and an automobile collided in suburban New York, causing an undermined number of injuries, authorities said.
Some 28,000 people were without power in suburban New York, and more than 2,000 customers suffered outages in the city, Con Edison said. More than 2,000 customers were without power in New Jersey, local power authorities said.
Schools were closed in New York City, Philadelphia and elsewhere in the Northeastern states.
Hundreds of flights were canceled at Newark Liberty International Airport, while delays were reported at John F, Kazinform cites Arab News. See www.aranews.com for full version.