People Spend Night on NYC Subway as Blizzard Slams East

Pretty much everything came to a grinding halt in New England yesterday as a massive East Coast blizzard canceled thousands of flights and snarled roadways. In Queens, a NYC subway stalled in snow drifts, trapping passengers on board since 1am without food, water, or heat. Central Park was blanketed with 20 inches of snow; parts of Connecticut saw as much as two feet; and Elizabeth, NJ, took top honors with a recorded 31 inches, notes the New York Times.

Up to 20 inches of snow were expected in Boston—where officials had to bubble-wrap ice sculptures at an aquarium to protect them from the elements. The windy storm hit just as travelers were heading back home after the holidays. Some 2,000 flights out of New York's three major airports were canceled, along with flights from Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, Baltimore, and the Carolinas. Amtrak canceled train service in Virginia and from New York to Maine. Buses also stopped running to many Eastern cities. Not even the NFL was immune. (More winter storm stories.)