NYC schools get snow day as drifts grow and utilities around Northeast prepare for outages

NYC gives in, cancels school due to snow

PHILADELPHIA — The slow-moving winter storm hammering a swath of the East Coast is bad enough that Mayor Mike Bloomberg has decided to give New York City’s 1.1 million public school students a rare snow day.

It’s the second snow day there this month, but only the fourth in the past six years.

As late as Thursday, Mayor Mike Bloomberg said school would be on. But spokesman Stu Loeser says conditions have made him change his mind.

The city has received 10 inches of snow, and more is expected.

From Pennsylvania through New England, utility companies are preparing for power outages caused by the combination of snow and strong winds. Gusts of 50 mph have been reported across the region.

Officials are blaming the wind for fanning a hotel fire in Hampton, N.H., and destroying an entire block of businesses.