Weather

26.6 inches of snow in Central Park, a one-day record for New York City

The Latest: NYC mayor says leave your cars alone

NEW YORK (AP) — The latest on the recovery efforts following the blizzard that slammed a large swath of the United States (all times local):

1:15 p.m.

For all the New Yorkers facing the task of digging their parked cars out from piles of snow, Mayor Bill de Blasio has a message: Don’t.

De Blasio says New York City residents should leave their cars where they are if they can. He doesn’t want people to put the snow from their vehicles back into the streets while the city is trying to clear up from the blizzard.

The city has suspended some parking rules through Friday so people won’t have to move their cars.

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12:45 p.m.

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell has lifted a driving ban he had imposed as a winter storm brought blizzard conditions to the mid-Atlantic region.

Markell says a state of emergency remains in effect. He urged residents to stay off the road unless they have a compelling reason to drive, so that snow plows could continue working without interference.

Emergency officials say there are no reports of major problems from flooding associated with the storm. Sunday morning’s coastal high tide, the third of the storm period, did not cause any significant issues.

About 50 people were evacuated from the flood-prone Oak Orchard area Saturday.

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12:00 p.m.

Tens of thousands of customers are still without power but service has been restored to many hit hard by the storm.

In the Carolinas, utilities reported about 50,000 customers without power on Sunday. More than 20,000 are still without power in New Jersey, down from about 58,000 on Saturday night.

Most service was back on in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia, where more than 50,000 had lost power. In Georgia, about 600 customers were still waiting for service — down from more than 125,000.

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11:20 a.m.

A stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike where more than 500 vehicles were stranded at the height of the storm remains closed.

Turnpike officials hope to have traffic moving again by mid-afternoon Sunday.

Gov Tom Wolf says only 20 tractor-trailers remained on the closed stretch of the roadway in the western part of the state.

Wolf says the rigs’ drivers voluntarily stayed with their trucks and were “all safe and ready to get going.”

On Saturday, pockets of stopped traffic stretched back miles. Among the stranded were the Duquesne University men’s basketball team, the Temple University gymnastics squad and a church group from Indiana.

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10:30 a.m.

The shows must go on.

All Broadway shows — both matinees and evening performances — were given the green light to go on as normal Sunday after New York state officials lifted their travel ban.

The Broadway League president Charlotte St. Martin says theaters want to ensure that out-of-towners aren’t disappointed. Such patrons make up a large percentage of Broadway’s audience.

The suspension of public transportation Saturday forced Broadway to pull the plug on matinees and evening shows.

Carnegie Hall remained shuttered Sunday.

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10:00 a.m.

All rail service in and out of New York’s Grand Central Terminal is expected to resume Sunday afternoon after a record-setting blizzard hammered the city.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says service on the Metro-North lines at outlying terminals in New York and Connecticut is scheduled to begin after noon.

Service on the Long Island Rail Road remains suspended. The MTA says the goal is to bring back service for the Monday morning commute.

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8:45 a.m.

The 26.6 inches of snow that fell in Central Park on Saturday is a one-day record for New York City.

The National Weather Service says the overall accumulation — 26.8 inches — is the second-most for a single storm in city history.

Meteorologist Faye Barthold says all but two-tenths of an inch of the city’s accumulation fell on Saturday, surpassing the previous one-day mark of 24.1 inches on Feb. 12, 2006.

Officials say the total of 26.8 inches that fell in Central Park during the storm is the second-most since officials began keeping snowfall records in 1869. That narrowly misses tying the previous record of 26.9 inches from February 2006.

Snow stopped falling in New York City shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday.

A travel ban keeping non-emergency workers off the roads was lifted early Sunday. Transit officials expect a gradual return of service.

At least 18 deaths have been blamed on the weather.

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8 a.m.

Baltimore officials have lifted an emergency travel ban for the snow-smothered city, but some restrictions remain in place.

The Baltimore City Department of Transportation said in a news release that the so-called Phase III ban was lifted at 6 a.m. Sunday. The ban had prohibited all travel in the city except for emergency vehicles. Officials urged residents who didn’t need to go out to still stay off the roads.

The Phase II plan remains in effect, meaning all vehicles venturing out on city roads must have all-weather tires. In addition, officials said parking will still be restricted along snow emergency routes.”

The city is continuing to offer free parking for residents in city garages on a first-come, first-served basis.

The National Weather Service said on its Weather Prediction Center website early Sunday that more than a foot of snow had fallen in Baltimore — 16 inches to be exact.

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7 a.m.

New York’s governor says a travel ban instituted during a massive snowstorm has been lifted.

Andrew Cuomo (KWOH’-moh) announced Sunday that the ban barring non-emergency motorists from being on the roads was lifted at 7 a.m.

The travel ban covered all state and local roads in New York City, the Long Island Expressway and Northern State Parkway and the Port Authority’s Hudson River crossings.

The governor says full service to the above-ground portions of the Metro-North, Long Island Rail Road and city subway systems will be restored gradually, as equipment and crews are put into position.

Cuomo says the MTA will restore bus, subway and regional railroad service as conditions warrant throughout Sunday.

The governor declared a state of emergency Saturday throughout New York City and its suburbs during the storm that moved through the area with high wind and heavy snow.

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