Snowstorm Wreaks Havoc

WASHINGTON (CN) – Much of the East Coast was closed and in chaos today after a snowstorm dumped a foot of snow from Washington to Boston. The Washington metro area was a shambles after hundreds or thousands of people, unaccustomed to driving in snow, simply parked their cars in traffic lanes, locked them up and walked home.     A resident of a Maryland suburb told Courthouse News it took his daughter 9 hours to drive home from Washington Wednesday night – not because of snow, but because so many people abandoned their cars in the streets. Five hundred thousand people were said to be without power in the Washington metro area.     The fifth major snowstorm of the winter closed airports and courthouses again, in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. The National Weather Service said cities from Boston to Philadelphia got a foot or more of snow.     Central Park got 19 inches. New York City schools are closed today, and so were Newark and JFK airports. Bus service was canceled or spotty throughout New Jersey, New York City and Long Island.