Weekly Wrap-Up: Snowstorm Blasts Eastern US; Winter Conditions Hinder Cleanup of Derailed Train in West Virginia

By Michael Kuhne, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

February 20,2015; 10:14PM,EST

 

 

The week kicked off with another round of wintry weather across the eastern United States, which caused severe travel problems and cut power to thousands.
The storm developed across the central U.S. early Monday and continued its trek eastward, bringing heavy snow and ice from the Ohio Valley to the mid-Atlantic through Monday night.
Meanwhile, heavy sleet and freezing rain coated Tennessee and neighboring states.
A train derailment that occurred Monday afternoon sent at least one crude oil tanker into a nearby river and prompted the evacuation of residents near the community of Armstrong Creek, West Virginia, according to local news reports.
The entire town of Boomer, West Virginia, was evacuated following six explosions.
It was snowing at the time of derailment, and the temperature was near 10 F, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Dale Mohler said, adding that first responders had difficulty due to the rounds of winter weather.
West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin issued a State of Emergency for Kanawha and Fayette counties Monday evening.
The CSX train, which had more than 100 cars carrying crude oil, was traveling from North Dakota to Yorktown, Virginia.
A fire burns Monday, Feb. 16, 2015, after a train derailment near Charleston, West Virginia. Nearby residents were told to evacuate as state emergency response and environmental officials headed to the scene. (AP Photo/John Raby)
In Georgia, more than 75,000 electric customers were without power across northern Georgia Monday night, according to Georgia Power.
The disruptive snow continued to move up the coast of the mid-Atlantic into southern New England through Tuesday morning, creating slippery travel conditions for the morning commute along the I-95 corridor.
(Twitter Photo/Rhode Island State Police)
Early Tuesday morning, more than 200,000 customers were left without power across Georgia, Arkansas and the Carolinas, but by noon Tuesday, Georgia Power was able to restore electricity to more than 130,000 customers.
Three people became trapped on ice in Middletown, New Jersey, Tuesday afternoon, prompting first responders to initiate a rescue effort.
The incident occurred near the end of Leonard Avenue in Sandy Hook Bay, according local news source, WABC-TV.
"It is unclear how the victims ended up stuck about 60 feet out on the ice, but it appears they walked out onto what they thought was solid ice between two erosion barriers," WABC-TV New York reported.
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All three individuals were rescued as first responders waded through the icy waters to pull them to safety. One individual, a 14-year-old girl, was pulled from the water, WABC-TV reported. The other two individuals were given life jackets and escorted to safety.
Temperatures in the area have been about 10 degrees below average for the past several days, according to AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Jim Andrews.
On Wednesday, an explosion rocked an Exxon Mobil refinery in Torrance, California, injuring two and forcing ash to rain from the sky, according to the Associated Press.
The blast occurred at a processing facility and was most likely caused by gasoline, Fire Department spokesman Steve Deuel told KCBS-TV.
Fire and smoke were seen blasting from the facility's smokestack around the time of the explosion. According to Associated Press, the facility's flare system was triggered to burn off fuel that could add to the fire, Deuel said.
The people injured were not hospitalized, and the refinery sent workers home for the day, the Associated Press reported. Fire crews spent more than two hours dousing the blaze.