The worst snowstorm in three years was tamed by city cleanup crews — but it was ferocious enough to ruin the holidays for those trying to get out of town this weekend.
“I’m going to have Christmas in Brooklyn for the first time,” sobbed Jessica Dude, 26, who was set to fly to LA to see her family before snow ruined her plans.
“I just don’t understand. New York and LA are two really big cities. How are there no flights until Christmas?”
The storm dumped as much as 14 inches of snow on parts of the city Saturday and Sunday.
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PHOTOS: NYC A WINTER WONDERLAND
AccuWeather meteorologist Carl Erickson said Kennedy Airport in Queens and Marine Park in Brooklyn were buried under 14 inches, tops in the five boroughs. Up to 11 inches fell in Manhattan, and The Bronx topped out at 10. There were no snowfall figures available for Staten Island.
By yesterday evening, most roads were clear and the airports were up and running — but with flights already tight during the busy Christmas week, many holding tickets for the estimated 1,200 canceled flights were left with no way to rebook before the holiday.
At La Guardia, actor Thomas Leverton, 24, was hoping to make an 8 a.m. flight to Houston to visit his mother, who is hospitalized with a kidney disease.
American Airlines told him he’ll likely depart tomorrow.
“It’s just upsetting,” he said. “Most people don’t live too long with the disease, and with the holidays and all, it’s just upsetting.”
But New Yorkers who didn’t have to travel seemed all too happy to spend Sunday sledding and having snowball fights.
Buck McAllister, 40, a tugboat company vice president, spent the day cross-country skiing with his son, Rowan, 12, in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.
“I love this weather,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier.”
At Macy’s, the spirits of last-minute holiday shoppers, normally dampened from hours of fighting crowds, were lifted by the snowfall.
“We had to pick up last-minute Christmas gifts,” said Cicely Brooks, 35, who was shopping with her sister earlier in the day, before a fire forced the store’s evacuation. “We were bound and determined to get out. In spite of the snow. We love the snow. It lets you know that it’s Christmas.”
The city expected all streets to be clear by last night, but alternate-side-of-the-street parking will be suspended today.
Additional reporting by Sally Goldenberg, Edmund DeMarche and Post Wire Services