New England Pounded By Heavy Snow

After the snowiest December on record, some areas of New England are being buried anew under up to 14 inches of snow. Schools and roads are closed all across the region.

Following the snowiest December on record in some parts of the region, and a spell of spring-like warmth, meteorologists said as much as 14 inches of snow was possible in southern New Hampshire and areas west and north of Boston.

Many communities declared snow emergencies in advance of the storm and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino ordered only essential city employees to report to work.

Snow piled up quickly with 11 inches by late morning at Winchendon, in north-central Massachusetts, and in South Casco, Maine, the National Weather Service said. Pine Plains, N.Y., near the Connecticut state line, reported 7 inches, and Burlington, Conn., had 6.5 inches. The Boston area had about 5.

"The story is it's a fast moving storm," said Bill Boynton, spokesman for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation. "Not only is it limiting visibility, but it's also coming down at a pace that we can't keep up with in terms of getting bare roads."

Kaj Munic was up at 4:30 a.m. plowing the heavy, wet snow off driveways in Columbia, Conn. "You have to hit most places at least twice," said Munic, a 59-year-old contractor.

Inquiring minds want to know if Al Gore has been up there recently. The Midwest, meanwhile, is being hit with yet another brutal Arctic cold front with temperatures expected to drop 20-30 degrees over today's already chilly temperatures. It's gonna be a three dog (plus an electric blanket) kind of night across most of the region.