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US storm moves eastward
13/12/2007 18:03 - (SA)
Oklahoma City - A winter storm blamed for 33 deaths and that left the US's midsection coated in ice marched eastward on Thursday, while many of the places it already hit continued to shiver as crews worked to restore electricity.
In Oklahoma, at least 350 932 homes and businesses were still without power on Thursday. The storm pummelled the region for three days this week, bringing down power lines with heavy ice. Most of the 33 fatalities stemmed from traffic accidents.
Some places in the Northeast could receive up to 30cm of snow on Thursday, said Brian Korty, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Camp Springs, Maryland.
"Our main concern now in the next day or so is as this storm that's affecting the Midwest comes eastward, it's going to start producing a lot of significant winter weather across the Northeastern portions of the nation," Korty said.
Another storm could dump heavy snow
In New York City, salt trucks were ready for deployment and officials anticipated between 5 to 10cm of snow in Manhattan.
More than two dozen shelters were set up at churches and community centres across Oklahoma for people needing a warm place to stay. Exhibit halls at the Cox Convention Centre in Oklahoma City were turned into a shelter capable of housing more than 700 people.
Sunshine and milder temperatures on Thursday should help cleanup efforts in much of the Plains, but another winter storm approaching from the west could dump heavy snow on parts of Oklahoma on Friday.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, campaigning in Iowa, was stranded in the Midwest and could not make a New Jersey fundraiser. She had her husband substitute.
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