Winter Delivers a Deadly ‘Last Hurrah’

ALBANY, N.Y. — Residents of the Northeast shoveled, scraped and swept up Wednesday after a snowstorm that swept out of the Midwest dumped more than a foot of snow across parts of the region.

At least 14 traffic deaths were blamed on slippery roads.

Snow accumulations of up to 15 inches were reported in southern and western New York, including a record 14 inches for the date at Buffalo, and 10 inches piled up in northeastern Ohio. Boston had 7 inches by early Wednesday and parts of Connecticut measured more than 9 inches.

Many New Hampshire schools closed or delayed classes and some Connecticut schools also delayed their openings. Hundreds of Ohio schools canceled classes and several districts closed or delayed opening in New Jersey and New York because of hazardous road conditions.

“This will be winter’s last hurrah, so we might as well enjoy it,” Tom Kearns, 53, said as wind blew the flakes through downtown Boston.

Early morning flight delays were common at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport, Boston’s Logan International Airport and at both La Guardia and JFK International airports in New York, authorities said.

Wet and slushy roads were blamed for highway crashes, including collisions that killed at least 10 people in Pennsylvania, 3 in New York and 1 in Ohio.

Police in Ohio were investigating whether snow contributed to a highway crash that killed two other people near Akron.

Winter weather was also plaguing travelers in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where up to 4 inches of snow fell Wednesday.

Further south, snow and freezing rain fell in the northern Missouri Valley.