Winter storm cools Valentine's ardor

Winter iced romance across the northeastern United States on Wednesday as a
Valentine's Day storm disrupted the annual hearts and flowers festival from the Midwest to the Atlantic shore.

"I'm afraid I'll go out of business. I have $38,000 worth of flowers, but I've only sold $7,000 worth," said Karen Pell of Flowerama, a florist shop in snowy Indianapolis.

"It's a lot slower than we had hoped," added a disappointed Margaret Maxham, trying to sell bouquets at Emslie The Florist in Vermont's capital, Montpelier.

For some, dining by candle light was a cold necessity, not a romantic option. Power companies said 100,000 customers were left without electricity from Virginia to New Jersey, and outages were reported in Ohio.