New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-12-26
CHRISTMAS SNOW-WHIT
TRAFFIC is IMPEDED.
Aboat Fire Inches of SnoVc at Night
and MOre to Come.

No green Christmas portended fat churchyards
for the coming year. Shortly after noon there
began the nearest approach to blizzard that
the city has seen this winter. The storm came at
first as a little furry of snow. II gradually be-
came more severe until at l D. m, twent=-hve
minutes after the snow began. the velocity OF
the wind was nineteen miles an hour. This In
creased as the afternoon on. and by
o'clock the wind was bowling through the down
town street canyons with thirty-m -mile-an-hour
velocity. accentuated by occasional lulls that
made the resumption of the higher velocity seem
greater than it really was
At 1O:30 p. N. the official snowfall was ee-
tween four and five inches. with apparently
plenty more to come. This drifted by the
high wind into windows. often foot or more
in depth. The streetcar lines early prepared
for trouble and got on. their great revolving
broom snowploughs. which were kept going
while the snow continued. The weather report
called for continued precipitation to-day.
The fall of snow considerably above the
snow removal contractors minimum OF two
inches but the work OF beginning its removal
was not begun last night. To-day viii be gen
orally observed as holiday since Christmas
fell on Sunday. The snow contractor said. how
ever, that he would have his men out this morn
ing and that the several thousand men and
trucks would begin the battle of opening the
streets bright and early He would get the main
arteries clear of the snow, so that teams VIII
have very little difficulty tomorrow. he said,
when the city once more resumes business ffter
it's two days Of rest.
Traffic not impeded last night on ths
Manhattan surface lines to any extent The Gle
waited roads unprotected and exposed third rail
furnished modified fireworks display. and up
in The Bronx the Union Railway was subject to
little more than it's normal delays
oren Root jr. said last evening that the cars
Of the Manhattan surface lines were running ors
schedule time. and had not been interfered with
by the storm. A fortunate circumstance was
that the passenger traffic last night was very
light.
Forecaster Emery said late last night that
the snowstorm would probably last through the
night He said there had been and rain
as far West as Michigan. and the temperatures
was below freezing through this State. AT Al
bany yesterday morning the temperature was
at zero and it was below IN sections OF
the New-England States. 1t was also below
freezing in the Middle West. and II degrees be-
low zero at Montana.
Although the schedules on all the lines were
disarranged. and some of the trips were dis
continued. the storm did not seriously inter-
fere with the trolley and elevated traffic in
Brooklyn up 10 late hour last night. The
Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company got its sweep
ers and pIoughs out early. and they said the
lines would all he clear by to-day.
At the Grand Central Station last evening Il
was said that many trains had been delayed BY
the storm. The train from Buffalo due at $40
o'clock, was two hours and twenty minutes late.
and other trains were from hour and ten
minutes to honr and half late.
officers -of the Street, Cleaning Departments
said last night that the work of clearing the
Three thousand men viii be put to work in the
principal streets
The storm caused great delay TO trolley and steam
roads on Long Island. Trains from far OUT JoaS
Island were expected to be hours behind time to-day
The Long Island Railroad Company sent out nins
big snowploughs late last night in effort to get
its tracks clear The trolley companies also sent
out pIoUEhS