The winter’s first major storm brought bitter cold and blinding snow across the region on Friday — stranding thousands of air travellers and killing at least four people.
The National Weather Service reported more than 6 inches of snowfall in Central Park and almost 8 on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, while Mayor de Blasio — who closed the city’s schools — said other sections got socked with nearly 10 inches.
Lingering snow and ice delayed flights in and out of Newark Airport by up to 3¹/₂ hours.
Denzil Francis, 47, fought back tears as he described waiting in vain for more than five hours to try and catch a flight to Witchita, Kan., for his godfather’s funeral on Saturday morning.
“I would never stand in a line like this if it wasn’t very important,” said Francis, of Belleville, N.J.
“I called to see if maybe they would postpone the funeral, but it doesn’t look like it. I’m just not sure at all if I’ll make it. I’m devastated.”
Graphic designer Carol Myers, 35, had blown about $60 on junk food and candy since getting bumped from a standby flight home to Los Angeles on Thursday.
“No hotel vouchers, no food vouchers, not even a blanket. I slept on my book bag,” she groused.
Gov. Cuomo blamed the storm for at least two deaths, including a woman killed when her car veered off the icy Southern State Parkway in North Babylon, LI, Thursday evening.
Other deaths included a man in his 50s found Friday afternoon in Yonkers inside a gray Nissan with vanity plates reading “CUEBALL.”
Cops said the car’s exhaust appeared to have been choked by snow, and the victim may have suffered carbon monoxide poisoning while waiting for the engine to warm up.
In upstate Byron, a woman with Alzheimer’s disease froze to death in her back yard after wandering outside while her husband was sleeping Thursday night.
In other storm developments:
- In Greenwich Village, a gunman stole a pick-up truck when the owner, a building super, left it running on Christopher Street while shoveling snow from the sidewalk. The 45-year-old victim gave chase until the robber waved a gun at him and shouted “Back off!” cops said.
- An estimated 4,000 returning passengers aboard the Queen Mary 2 were kept on board for several hours Friday by Port Authority cops who said it was too dangerous for them to disembark the luxury ocean liner in Brooklyn.
- At Penn Station, the departures of at least two Amtrak trains were delayed while maintenance crews pried open their doors, which froze shut while stored on the tracks overnight.
- More than 3,000 hardy souls hopped on CitiBikes during the storm, compared to the average 36,000 a day, according to the city’s Department of Transportation.
- The New York Blood Center appealed for donations over the weekend to make up for blood drives canceled due to the storm.
Additional reporting by Rebecca Harshbarger, Carl Campanile, Jamie Schram and Philip Messing