Winter arrives with a vengeance

Nor'easter hits Maine
The big snowfall in Maine was the result of a nor'easter. Before the storm even arrived, the National Weather Service issued a rare blizzard warning for eastern and northern Maine. Brooklin, on the coast, recorded a gust of 59 mph.

The town of Eustis in western Maine received a whopping 41.8 inches of snow by Monday morning. Eric Schwibs from the National Weather Service called it "the sweet spot of the storm."

For residents, however, it wasn't so sweet.

"It's beautiful, but it's a little crazy," said Linda Shane, who had to call for help when the snow jammed her car doors shut as she tried to get out of her driveway. Finally at her job at Camden National Bank, she looked out the window and said: "You can't see the gas station across the street."

Snow adds to misery
In New Hampshire, the deep snow added to the misery for nearly 11,000 customers still in the dark from an ice storm more than a week earlier.

Nearly 50,000 customers remain without power across northern Indiana because of an ice storm last week. There were also more than 7,000 customers still out in Illinois on Monday and about 5,000 in northwest Ohio.

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The weather was blamed for at least 11 deaths over the weekend, including a collision between a car and a semitrailer truck near New Carlisle, Ind., that killed four Marines based near Detroit. In suburban Chicago, the frozen body of a 48-year-old mother of three was found on a sidewalk near her home; an autopsy showed she died of hypothermia.

In the Seattle area, the city remained largely snowbound Monday. Limited service resumed at Sea-Tac Airport, but thousands of people were stranded because of all the flight cancellations over the weekend.

There were long, snaking lines at virtually every ticket counter at the airport Monday morning. Some travelers said they had spent 12 hours waiting for a ticket agent, taking turns sleeping while others held their places in line. The baggage claim area was littered with mounds of unclaimed luggage 6 and 7 feet high.

Hundreds stranded
Hundreds of travelers were marooned even in Los Angeles, where the line to rebook Alaska Airlines flights to the Pacific Northwest stretched out the door.

But some people were able to take advantage of the storm.

Toting a snow shovel as he stopped for coffee early Monday in Seattle, Ralph Goldman, said he and two fellow handymen were going from business to business offering to shovel snow and finding no end of takers.

"It's good. I can't complain," Goldman said. "I wanted the snow so much. It keeps me happy."

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