By Nathan Duke
Last weekend’s storm dumped a massive snowfall at John F. Kennedy International Airport and left more than 10 inches of the white stuff in at least four Queens neighborhoods, a spokeswoman for the National Weather Service said.
JFK Airport was blanketed by 14.5 inches of snow between Saturday and Sunday, the spokesman for a New York chapter of the Weather Service said. On Sunday, JFK received 4.7 inches, breaking the 1995 record for any snowfall on Dec. 20 of 3.8 inches at the Jamaica-based airport, the spokesman said. Elmhurst’s LaGuardia Airport was covered in 8.8 inches of snow last weekend.
More than 800 flights at the two airports were cancelled due to the storm.
Queens neighborhoods were buried in snow throughout the weekend as several communities were forced to dig themselves out of more than 10 inches of snow.
Howard Beach was covered with 13 inches, while Fresh Meadows received 12.5 inches and both Bayside and Whitestone had more than 11 inches, the National Weather Service spokesman said.
In a press conference Sunday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said areas of Douglaston and the Rockaways had nearly a foot of snow, but the National Weather Service could not confirm the amount of snowfall in these neighborhoods.
Manhattan’s Central Park was under 10.9 inches of snow, he said.
Bloomberg said 2,400 city workers were out clearing the snow from the streets over the weekend. There were no major snow-related accidents in the city due to the storm, he said.
City schools were open Monday, but alternate-side parking and garbage collection were suspended.
On Monday, The New York Times reported that the storm, which blew across the East Coast, left 2 feet of snow in eastern Long Island, parts of Virginia, New Jersey and West Virginia and just under 2 feet in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C.
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at nduke@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
