A major snowstorm that hit the Northeast Jan. 22-23 caused some disruption in the produce trade in Philadelphia, New York and Boston, the latter being particularly affected as up to three feet of snow fell in areas north and east of the city.

John Grant, owner of Grant Stanton Produce Co. Inc. in Boston, said, "It was one of the worst four or five storms we've had in the last century. After the snow, business was extremely sparse. This was really a first-class blizzard, with near-hurricane winds and temperatures from zero into the teens. We had 24 to 36 inches of snow, depending where you were in the area. The worst was south around the Cape. In the north -- New Hampshire and Maine -- where they usually have more snow, they had less."

Saturday night and Sunday brought "the teeth of storm, and it was really a life-threatening situation to be on the highways," Mr. Grant said. "There was no business to speak of Monday [Jan. 24]. Today there is some business, but the streets in Boston are still being cleared. There is no place to park when going into the city. The supermarkets now, I'm sure, had people run in for milk and bread before the storm, but the wholesale business is really quiet. No one has eaten in a restaurant here for two or three days."

On the Philadelphia Regional Produce Center, Danny Storey of Storey's Fruit & Produce said Jan. 25 that business volume "is cut in half for a typical day at this time of year."

"There is a lot of snow, and it's cold as heck," Julio Garcia of Hunts Point Tropical in New York City said Jan. 24.

Because of the cold weather, a lot of trucks were having trouble starting. New York City streets were cleared, but the storm wasn't as severe for New York as it was for Boston. "It is uncomfortable to make local deliveries, but we'll get through it. We've gotten through it before," Mr. Garcia added.

Another Hunts Point wholesaler, Joel Fierman of Joseph Fierman & Son Inc., said Jan. 24 that "it's cold. We have limited customers, and business is slower. I'd say we're off a good 30-40 percent. Our market fronts were clear and the backs were relatively clear. They did a good job of cleaning the snow out."

More than the snow, it was the bitter cold in New York that slowed the produce business. "A lot of our customers are greengrocers," said Mr. Fierman. "They do not have Thermo Kings and refrigerated trucks. They depend on getting to their stores in a short period of time. It was nine degrees here last night. In such conditions, greengrocers run a risk of ruining produce by freezing in their trucks before the product can be merchandised."

Mr. Fierman added, "The city did a good job. The roads were cleared even yesterday [Jan. 23]. They were opened pretty well. It's the cold that is the big factor."

John Durand of Nardella Inc. in Philadelphia said Jan. 25 that the forecast of the storm was good for business on Jan. 20-21 as retailers came to the market seeking product to fill stores in the pre-blizzard rush.

"We did a really good business [Jan. 20-21]," he said. "After the storm, it was tricky getting produce from the [Delaware River international seaport] piers. There were not many people out walking, so what we did in the front end on Thursday night and Friday, we did that much less yesterday and today, so it all equals out."

Mr. Durand noted, however, that "our market for January has been unscathed" with mild weather prior to the big blizzard. "January was better than the past because we did not have a lot of snow. It was mild, which is really good for us. As long as people can get out and buy from the stores, that is good."

On Jan. 24, Boston wholesaler Anthony Sharrino, owner of Eaton & Eustis Co., said that "business is normal. I showed up as usual at 2:45 this morning and the market was clean as a whistle. They had worked for 24 hours" to clear the snow.

He added that "some customers who couldn't get out of their facilities didn't show up. We had two feet of snow. In some areas they got almost three feet. But we can get product in and out as normal. Business here is without a blip."

(A more detailed article on the blizzard will appear in the Jan. 31 issue of The Produce News.)