New York vows to enjoy white New Year's after worst snowfall in years

"All it's going to do to the New Year's Eve celebration is make it more special," he said Saturday. "... New York City will look even more beautiful." Up to 65 centimetres of snow fell on parts of the East Coast in the United States Saturday - the most in five years - as a powerful winter storm dumped precipitation from Philadelphia to New England after unexpectantly leaving Washington without a trace of the white stuff.

After nearly white-out conditions in Massachusetts during the afternoon, temperatures began to warm Saturday evening, causing rain to fall on Boston and the Big Apple's snow to turn to slush. Guiliani had earlier ordered Times Square to be cleared for the New Year's festivities by bringing in scoop shovels that dumped snow into huge, boxy machines that melted the mess. Some holiday revellers were probably shut out of the city, however, when hundreds of flights were cancelled in and out of the city. Airport workers were able, however, to clear one runway at John F. Kennedy International Airport by evening, and another runway opened at Newark International in New Jersey later Saturday night.

At Kennedy alone, more than a thousand travellers were stranded, and transportation officials had provided cots and blankets and kept restaurants and food kiosks open for them. Flights up and down the East Coast were cancelled or encountered delays after airlines, in expectation of the storm, cancelled hundreds of other flight. Travellers had few other options. Bus and train service was also disrupted, and cars were either stranded and inching along highways, especially in New Jersey, the worst-hit state. Residents in the Southern United States did not fare so well under the winter storms. The death toll from an ice and snow storm on Christmas Eve had risen to 43 by Saturday night, with Texas reporting 20 of those deaths. And more than 200,000 homes in Arkansas and Oklahoma - which President Clinton earlier had declared federal disaster areas - remained without electricity.

Meanwhile Saturday, Clinton released 300 million dollars in emergency energy assistance because of the harsh winter and high fuel prices. The aid will be used immediately to help low-income families heat their homes after heating costs have risen 29 per cent in the past year in the United States.

(dpa)