Ice hangs from a sign alongside an icy rural road yesterday, near Newtown, Pa. Rain “flash-freezing” on roads, sidewalks and commuter train platforms has made travel hazardous in the Northeast, leading to several highway closures and accidents that claimed at least four lives. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
WESTFIELD — While there have been no reports of any accidents in the city of Westfield this morning, residents are being urged by the Westfield Police Department to stay home if they can today.
“If you must go outside, exercise caution and common sense,” said Officer Michael Bradley this morning, adding that the city’s Department of Public Works has been notified of the conditions.
“If you step outside and it’s slippery under your feet, chances are the roads will be slick, too,” he said.
Rain “flash-freezing” on roads and sidewalks left an icy glaze under feet and tires across much of the northeast yesterday, causing crashes that claimed at least five lives.
A crash involving 30 to 50 vehicles on Interstate 76 outside Philadelphia killed one person, and two others died in a crash involving multiple vehicles on nearby Interstate 476, police said. In northeastern Pennsylvania, a man was killed after his car overturned on an icy road and he was thrown from it and hit by a commercial vehicle. In Connecticut, police cited slippery conditions in a crash that killed an 88-year-old woman who struck a utility pole in New Haven.
“This is the worst type of winter precipitation to combat, because it can freeze instantly and it doesn’t need to be the whole pavement for vehicles crossing it to have problems,” Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesman Eugene Blaum said.
The National Weather Service warned last night that temperatures were expected to drop below freezing in areas from northern Maryland into Philadelphia and up through northern New Jersey. Any remaining moisture on roadways and sidewalks could re-freeze, and drivers were urged to use caution until conditions improve. Temperatures were expected to hit the 40s by midday today in the area.
Trucks and cars drive slowly on an icy rural road yesterday near Newtown, Pa. Rain “flash-freezing” on roads, sidewalks and commuter train platforms has made travel hazardous in the Northeast, leading to several highway closures and accidents that claimed at least four lives. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
In this image from PennDOT via FoxTV, more than 20 cars are piled up on I-76 in Philadelphia after freezing rain yesterday. Slick roads caused a number of crashes, including collisions that also closed parts of Interstates 95 and 476 in and around Philadelphia. (AP Photo/PennDOT via FoxTV)
Kaitlyn Maier grew up in upstate New York but said that didn’t prepare her for the icy conditions she encountered trying to get from her home in Philadelphia to her niece’s baptism.
“I’ve driven through snow a lot, and this isn’t like anything I’ve ever driven in,” Maier told The Associated Press.
She came upon the I-76 wreck moments after it happened and saw a jumbled line of cars extending around the bend ahead of her. “We were stopped for a while on the side of the road. I was going less than 10 mph, but I had no control of my vehicle.”
Freezing rain and snow was expected in interior parts of New England, but the temperature was expected to rise into the 40s and 50s along the coast and change the precipitation to plain rain in time for the evening AFC Championship Game between the Patriots and Indianapolis Colts.
On the West Coast, high winds left tens of thousands of customers without power in the Seattle area, but power companies promised Seahawks fans they’d do their best to restore power before the NFC title game against the Green Bay Packers.
In eastern Oregon, highway officials partially reopened Interstate 84 Sunday after a massive crash blamed on black ice Saturday closed more than 160 miles of eastbound lanes. Rain was expected in western Oregon Sunday and Monday, but not as much as fell on Saturday, when 1.8 inches of rain in Portland sent some untreated sewage into the Willamette River.
Dozens of spinouts and accidents were reported from northern New Jersey to southern New Hampshire yesterday and treacherous conditions forced the closure of the New York State Thruway from Newburgh to New York City during the morning. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority warned travelers on New York City’s Metro-North commuter railroad to beware of ice on staircases, platforms and parking lots.
