Seth Wenig / AP Photo
It's the most perfect snow day the north east has had in a long time, coming on a Monday, and with plenty of warning. The New York Times reports that the storm, which dumped up to 14 inches on New York and up to 18 inches on Boston, shattered the record for March snowfall in dozens of cities. New York City canceled school for 1.1 million students—its first snow day in five years. The storm paralyzed transit on the northeastern seaboard. By 10 a.m., about one thousand flights had been scrapped in the New York tri-state area alone, with Greyhound and Peter Pan canceling bus service after midnight, delays on New York City buses, and delays on commuter trains. Maine's government shut down for the day, while government offices in New Jersey and Washington delayed openings for two hours, and Philadelphia took extraordinary measures to protect its homeless population by forcing people inside. The storm was blamed for at least four deaths on roadways in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Long Island.