Home
Politics
(AFP/Jewel Samad)
Many churches canceled Sunday services, as local officials urged residents to hunker down indoors as record snowfall wreaked havoc on roadways.
And with the roads and transportation in disarray, school systems in some areas were already announcing that they would be closed on Monday.
The storm was a blow to the already reeling retail sector, which had been counting on cash registers loudly ringing on the Saturday before Christmas -- traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year -- to make up for weeks of lackluster sales.
"I think we can safely say that sales in the Washington region were crippled," Ellen Davis, vice president of the National Retail Federation, told AFP.
Davis, whose industry group represents retailers across the United States, said because of the inclement weather "people weren't eating at restaurants, there wasn't any impulse buying."
With some 15 billion dollars of all nationwide sales occurring on the last weekend before Christmas, shoppers seeking to make up for lost time Sunday were likely to find more closed stores, unplowed roads and limited transportation options.
But Davis said the impact of the blizzard on Christmas shopping would be felt differently in various parts of the country, depending on when the storm hit.
While Washington woke up Sunday swathed in a deep white blanket under clear skies, flakes still were flying in New York and points north.
"What we heard in New York is that a couple of flurries get people more in the spirit of shopping," Davis told AFP.
Meanwhile, Washington area airports limped back to operation Sunday, and said it would take some time to reestablish normalcy.
"It's going to take a few days for the airlines to re-book everybody, so if anybody was planning to travel they really need to check with their airline before they head out to the airport," said spokeswoman Courtney Mickalonis at Ronald Reagan National Airport.
The storm wreaked havoc with the annual year-end holiday travel season that officially began Saturday and lasts two weeks, through the New Year holiday.
"We're not at normal operations yet, but the airports are open and we're working to get back to normal," said Mickalonis, who said the first post-storm flight at her airport took off Sunday at 12:30 pm (1730 GMT.)
As the monster storm barreled northward, the National Weather Service posted blizzard warnings for southern New England, including Boston and points north, with up to two feet (61 centimeters) of snow possible.
The storm at one point stretched some 500 miles (800 kilometers) across 14 states, affecting tens of millions of Americans.
The NWS said it was the heaviest snow storm ever to hit the US capital in December. A total of 16 inches accumulated in Washington, where snow does not usually fall until January or later, if at all.
Three people died on Virginia roads Saturday as some 3,000 accidents shut down interstate highways for several hours, according to the state's department of emergency management. The Virginia Department of Health confirmed one other storm-related death.
Bus service around the region was severely hampered, and even non-existent in places, hours after the storm had passed.
"There are huge piles of snow lining the edges of streets and blocking the bus stops," said John Catoe, the general manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
Rather than deferring their holiday purchases, Davis said, resourceful shoppers likely would try to make up for lost time in the final few shopping days before Christmas, which falls on Friday.
"You might see more people choose to purchase gift cards," she said.
"I would imagine there were people online all day yesterday as opposed to being out" at the shopping malls.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And with the roads and transportation in disarray, school systems in some areas were already announcing that they would be closed on Monday.
The storm was a blow to the already reeling retail sector, which had been counting on cash registers loudly ringing on the Saturday before Christmas -- traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year -- to make up for weeks of lackluster sales.
"I think we can safely say that sales in the Washington region were crippled," Ellen Davis, vice president of the National Retail Federation, told AFP.
Davis, whose industry group represents retailers across the United States, said because of the inclement weather "people weren't eating at restaurants, there wasn't any impulse buying."
With some 15 billion dollars of all nationwide sales occurring on the last weekend before Christmas, shoppers seeking to make up for lost time Sunday were likely to find more closed stores, unplowed roads and limited transportation options.
But Davis said the impact of the blizzard on Christmas shopping would be felt differently in various parts of the country, depending on when the storm hit.
While Washington woke up Sunday swathed in a deep white blanket under clear skies, flakes still were flying in New York and points north.
"What we heard in New York is that a couple of flurries get people more in the spirit of shopping," Davis told AFP.
Meanwhile, Washington area airports limped back to operation Sunday, and said it would take some time to reestablish normalcy.
"It's going to take a few days for the airlines to re-book everybody, so if anybody was planning to travel they really need to check with their airline before they head out to the airport," said spokeswoman Courtney Mickalonis at Ronald Reagan National Airport.
The storm wreaked havoc with the annual year-end holiday travel season that officially began Saturday and lasts two weeks, through the New Year holiday.
"We're not at normal operations yet, but the airports are open and we're working to get back to normal," said Mickalonis, who said the first post-storm flight at her airport took off Sunday at 12:30 pm (1730 GMT.)
As the monster storm barreled northward, the National Weather Service posted blizzard warnings for southern New England, including Boston and points north, with up to two feet (61 centimeters) of snow possible.
The storm at one point stretched some 500 miles (800 kilometers) across 14 states, affecting tens of millions of Americans.
The NWS said it was the heaviest snow storm ever to hit the US capital in December. A total of 16 inches accumulated in Washington, where snow does not usually fall until January or later, if at all.
Three people died on Virginia roads Saturday as some 3,000 accidents shut down interstate highways for several hours, according to the state's department of emergency management. The Virginia Department of Health confirmed one other storm-related death.
Bus service around the region was severely hampered, and even non-existent in places, hours after the storm had passed.
"There are huge piles of snow lining the edges of streets and blocking the bus stops," said John Catoe, the general manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
Rather than deferring their holiday purchases, Davis said, resourceful shoppers likely would try to make up for lost time in the final few shopping days before Christmas, which falls on Friday.
"You might see more people choose to purchase gift cards," she said.
"I would imagine there were people online all day yesterday as opposed to being out" at the shopping malls.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
