pelting

米北東部が８日、暴風雪に見舞われ、マサチューセッツなど５州で非常事態宣言が発令されました。

A vast storm system descended on the Northeast on Friday, bringing high winds, deepening snow and threats of flooding to southern New England and reopening the old wounds of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and New York.

Lem Hernandez was out of luck when he finally had his turn at the pump after waiting at a gas station in Long Beach, N.Y. He got some gasoline before it ran out, but not enough to fill up.

After a day of pelting wet snow, five states — New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island — had declared states of emergency, and Massachusetts had banned vehicles from every road in the state. As dusk fell, conditions quickly deteriorated. Major highways like Interstate 93 were almost completely abandoned; downtown Boston, in blizzard conditions, was a ghost town lost in a swirl of howling winds and snow.

Parked cars lost their shape and resembled scoops of ice cream.

The worst was still to come, at least in New England. Forecasters said the storm would continue through Saturday afternoon and winds could reach 75 miles per hour, leaving behind a fresh white blanket perhaps three feet thick.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/09/nyregion/major-snowstorm-arriving-in-northeast.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130209&_r=0

日本語では「篠突く雨、雪」という言い方が昔はあったようですが、peltingはまさにそれで、「たたきつけるような（しめった雪）」を意味します。短時間に猛烈な勢いで雪が降ったことがわかります。毎年のように米国東北部ではこの季節には大雪になりますが、今回の大型低気圧は２０１２年１０月末の「サンディ」以来のもので、警戒感が広がっています。（UG）