Snow Briefs

Snowplow slides off roadway into embankment near toll bridge

MONTAGUE TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) – Authorities say a snowplow slid off a roadway and went down a 10-foot embankment in New Jersey.

Montague Township fire officials say both the driver and passenger were unharmed and got out of the vehicle on their own.

NJ.com said the snowplow slid off Route 206 early Tuesday, about a half-mile from the Milford-Montague Toll Bridge that crosses the Delaware River. The vehicle landed on its side.

The roadway was closed until 8 a.m. A heavy duty tow truck removed the snowplow.

There’s no guardrail in the area.

Weather Service decided last minute not to cut snow forecast

WASHINGTON (AP) — Before the first snow fell, federal meteorologists realized there was a good chance the late-winter storm wasn’t going to produce giant snow totals in big Northeast cities as predicted.

But they didn’t change their forecasts because they said they didn’t want to confuse the public.

National Weather Service meteorologists held a conference call Monday afternoon about computer models that dramatically cut predicted snow amounts. They decided to stick with the super snowy warnings.

Greg Carbin, chief forecast operations at the Weather Prediction Center, tells The Associated Press the decision was made out of “extreme caution.”

Carbin said a change might have given people the wrong message that the storm was no longer a threat. It still was.

Carbin stands by the decision and forecast.

Driver survives 175-foot plunge into snow-covered gorge

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) – Firefighters say a driver has survived a 175-foot plunge into a New York gorge.

Rochester fire officials told the Democrat & Chronicle that the unidentified man’s vehicle missed a curve around 11:15 a.m. Tuesday, crashed through a fence and went over an embankment into the Genesee River gorge.

It’s not known whether the snowy weather contributed.

Fire department rescue units lowered a firefighter into the gorge, where the driver had exited the vehicle and was walking. His injuries weren’t immediately known.

The accident is under investigation.

Officials worried about impact of cold on DC’s cherry trees

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Park Service is concerned about the impact of cold weather on Washington’s famous cherry blossoms.

National Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst says that the snow Monday into Tuesday didn’t appear to do damage, but upcoming cold temperatures are concerning. Litterst says that if the temperature gets down to 24 degrees there could be a 90 percent loss of blossoms that were expected to be at their peak in about a week.

National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Lasorsa says Washington’s low temperature is forecast to be around 22 degrees Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The National Park Service had forecast peak bloom to occur between March 19 and March 22. Peak bloom is the day when 70 percent of the Yoshino cherry trees around the city’s Tidal Basin are blossoming.

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