Blizzard conditions slammed West Virginia and Maryland overnight Tuesday, shutting down interstates and knocking out power. Authorities closed 45 miles of Interstate 68 because of little or no visibility and abandoned cars.
Snowfall Forecast
"For some Appalachian locations, this storm was their version of last October's 'Snowtober' storm that hammered the Northeast with power outages and downed trees due to the weight of that heavy snow," reports Erdman.
More than two feet of snow had been reported in the West Virginia and Maryland mountains as of late-morning Tuesday. A total accumulation of 2-3' is expected in West Virginia.
"As of Tuesday morning, 17 separate locations had picked up at least a foot of snow from far southwest Pennsylvania and into West Virginia," says weather.com Senior Meteorologist Jon Erdman.
Record Snowiest October Days
- Elkins, W.V.: 7" (previous record was Halloween, 1917)
- Bluefield, W.V. - 4.7" )
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Live Snowy Side of Sandy
Maryland State Highway Administration spokeswoman Kelly Boulware says they had to remove several tractor-trailers that were stuck on I-40 Westbound as well as four to five cars that were abandoned in the median.
"Even lower elevations of Ohio were seeing their first snow of the season," says Erdman.
In North Carolina, Sugar Mountain Ski Resort is opening on Halloween Day. It's the earliest opening in its 43 year history. The resort reports they had 7" of snow on Monday with a possible 10-16" expected from Sandy by the end of Tuesday.
Sandy's wintry side even dipped as far down as Tennessee. Hikers and campers in the Smokies were a little startled by the appearance of snow. Officials report about 50 backpackers took shelter in the park during Sunday night's snowfall.
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