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January 13, 1996
Web posted at: 3:50 p.m. EST
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Although some roofs were sagging, travelers were moving and the snow was slowly melting as temperatures began rising Saturday after the second winter storm in a week moved away from the eastern United States.
Sunny skies and higher temperatures Saturday helped melt the icy coating on most roads, improving highway travel, but forecasters warned of possible flooding if the temperature climbs too fast. Temperatures started in the 20s early Saturday in the storm-affected areas, but slowly edged above freezing.
The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory late Friday in eight counties in the New York area.
Friday's storm, stretching from the South to New England, started with snow and quickly turned to freezing rain near the coast, dumping up to a foot of new snow in some areas and adding at least seven deaths to the more than 100 fatalities caused by last weekend's blizzard.
Many East Coast cities, paralyzed for days by waist-high snow, took advantage of the break in the bitter weather to start cleaning up.
Museums also took advantage of the warmer weather to welcome tourists.
In Washington, hordes of private contractors with massive snow plows were brought in to clean up the city. Crews focused on digging out the business and government district first.
A spokeswoman for Mayor Rudolph Giuliani estimated the past week's snowstorms will cost New York about $37 million; Pennsylvania's state emergency management agency put the state's cost at $69 million so far.
Airports opened throughout the mid-Atlantic and northeast states Saturday, although there were some flight delays as airlines worked to return to normal schedules.
Train travel was almost normal in Amtrak's northeast corridor, with only a few minor delays, according to a spokesman.
President Clinton declared New York and Delaware snow disaster areas Friday, and may eventually give a total of nine states the same status, officials said. Maryland and Washington, D.C., were declared disaster areas Thursday.
James Lee Witt, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Pennsylvania and West Virginia had requested disaster status, and similar requests were expected from New Jersey, North Carolina and Virginia. (170K AIFF sound or 170K WAV sound)
At a news conference, federal officials also promised Coast Guard ice-breaking equipment for New York harbor and trucks and snow plows for Washington, where many streets remained impassable because of last weekend's snows.
The federal government is due to reopen Tuesday after being closed for three weeks, first because of the budget dispute and then because of the snowfalls.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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