Friday December 29 9:56 AM ET East Hunkers Down for Big Snow Storm

By The Associated Press,

Winter storm watches were posted along the East Coast from the Carolinas to New England on Friday as forecasters said a storm was brewing that could bring the worst snowfall in five years in some areas.

``I hope to be prepared,'' said Stella Budzinski of Lawrenceville, N.J., Thursday as she left a Home Depot with a shovel, ice chopper and a bag of ice melters. ``Everyone in the store is buying shovels and getting ready. I hope it doesn't come.''

A low-pressure system was forecast to form off the North Carolina coast Friday evening and track up the East Coast.

Snow totals of a foot or more were possible in some areas, and high wind could create blizzard conditions.

In New York City, the snow removal equipment was geared for action, along with about 200,000 pounds of salt and thousands of cleanup workers. It could be the largest snowfall in the city since the blizzard of Jan. 7-8, 1996, which dumped more than 20 inches of snow.

In New Jersey, the state's transportation department is equipped with 150,000 tons of rock salt and more than 600 snowplows and salt-spreading vehicles, spokesman John Dourgarian said Thursday.

``We are ready for the storm,'' Dourgarian said. ``We follow a rule of thumb, 'We hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.'''

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/ap/20001229/us/east_coast_storm_1.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), December 29, 2000