The Norman Transcript

Headlines

Discussion

December 27, 2012

Storm heads east

The Associated Press Associated Press

NORMAN — A powerful winter storm system pounded the nation’s midsection Wednesday and headed toward the Northeast, where people braced for the high winds and heavy snow that disrupted holiday travel, knocked out power to thousands of homes and were blamed in at least six deaths.

Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed, scores of motorists got stuck on icy roads or slid into drifts, and blizzard warnings were issued amid snowy gusts of 30 mph that blanketed roads and windshields, at times causing whiteout conditions.

“The way I’ve been describing it is as a low-end blizzard, but that’s sort of like saying a small Tyrannosaurus rex,” said John Kwiatkowski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis.

The system, which spawned Gulf Coast region tornadoes on Christmas Day and a historic amount of snow in Arkansas, pushed through the Upper Ohio Valley and headed toward the Northeast. Forecasts called for 12 to 18 inches of snow inland from western New York to Maine starting late Wednesday and into today and tapering off into a mix of rain and snow closer to the coast, where little accumulation was expected in such cities as New York and Boston.

The storm left freezing temperatures in its aftermath, and forecasters also said parts of the Southeast from Virginia to Florida would see severe thunderstorms.

Schools on break and workers taking holiday vacations meant that many people could avoid messy commutes, but those who had to travel were implored to avoid it. Snow was blamed for scores of vehicle accidents as far east as Maryland, and about two dozen counties in Indiana and Ohio issued snow emergency travel alerts, urging people to go out on the roads only if necessary.

For local news and more, subscribe to The Norman Transcript Smart Edition, or our print edition.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Headlines
  • Tornado Tornado tears through county

    A spring storm packing a single tornado ripped across far eastern Cleveland County on Sunday evening, carrying hail, strong winds and injuring at least six persons, with three in critical condition....

    May 20, 2013 1 Photo

  • Tornado Pecan Valley neighborhood hit

    The Pecan Valley housing addition in unincorporated Cleveland County northeast of Lake Thunderbird took the hardest hit in the Norman area as a tornado tracked across the lake Sunday evening. At the emergency command post set up at the ...

    May 20, 2013 1 Photo

  • Tornadoes level homes in Oklahoma

    SHAWNEE — One of several tornadoes that touched down Sunday in Oklahoma turned homes in a trailer park near Oklahoma City into splinters and rubble and sent frightened residents along a 100-mile corridor scurrying for shelter....

    May 20, 2013

  • Israeli seeks interim deal with Palestinians

    JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s senior coalition partner says that reaching a final peace agreement with the Palestinians is unrealistic at the current time and the sides should instead pursue an interim arrangement....

    May 20, 2013

  • Syrian troops push into town

    BEIRUT — Syrian troops pushed into a rebel-held town near the Lebanese border on Sunday, fighting house-to-house and bombing from the air as President Bashar Assad tried to strengthen his grip on a strategic strip of land running from the ...

    May 20, 2013

  • Board looks at hirings

    The hiring of three key administrators tops Monday’s meeting of the Norman Public Schools board of education. The board meets at 7 p.m. in the Norman City Council chambers, 201 W. Gray St....

    May 20, 2013

  • Fate of Los Angeles marijuana shops left to voters

    LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles politicians have struggled for more than five years to regulate medical marijuana, trying to balance the needs of the sick against neighborhood concerns that pot shops attract crime. Voters will head to the polls ...

    May 20, 2013

  • AP CEO calls seizure unconstitutional

    WASHINGTON — The president and chief executive officer of The Associated Press on Sunday called the government’s secret seizure of two months of reporters’ phone records “unconstitutional” and said the news cooperative had not ruled out ...

    May 20, 2013

  • Obama urged to make economy a bigger topic

    WASHINGTON — Five months into President Barack Obama’s second term, allies and former top aides worry that his overarching goal of economic opportunity has been diminished, partly drowned out by controversies seized upon by Republicans in ...

    May 20, 2013

  • Official: Driver in parade crash likely had medical condition

    DAMASCUS, Va. — Authorities believe the driver who plowed into dozens of hikers marching in a Virginia mountain town parade suffered from a medical condition and did not cause the crash intentionally, an emergency official said Sunday. ...

    May 20, 2013