Chicago didn't let the cold stand in the way of dyeing the river green, a city tradition (above). In Cincinnati (below), snow kept St. Patrick's parade crowds sparse

March 15, 1999
Web posted at: 5:01 p.m. EDT (1701 GMT)

(CNN) -- Irish eyes were watering in several U.S. cities over the weekend as early St. Patrick's Day festivities across the Midwest and mid-Atlantic states got pounded by snow and wind from a late winter storm.

In Cincinnati, Ohio, snowy weather threatened to turn spectators blue instead of Irish green. Only a few brave souls ventured forth into the snowy weather to participate in a Sunday parade. And in Baltimore, those who shrugged off the bad weather saw fewer than half of the marchers who were supposed to be in the city's St. Patrick's Day parade.

None of the cheerleaders showed up, the Naval Academy Band canceled -- leaving the job of leading the parade to the Na Fianna Irish Pipe band -- and some of the floats were empty.

But down the road in Washington, D.C., a three-hour procession featured nine floats, 25 marching bands and eight drill teams, which were joined by antique bicycles, Irish wolfhounds and students from the area's five schools of Irish dance.

Grand Marshal Denis Mulcahy lead this year's parade. Mulcahy is the founder of Project Children, which has brought more than 13,000 Catholic and Protestant children from Northern Ireland to the U.S. to demonstrate how Protestants and Catholics live together peacefully.

Chicago got its traditional head start on the festivities by dyeing the Chicago River green on Saturday. The ritual goes back at least 30 years, but local legend puts it closer to 40. It reportedly started when dye used to locate a sewer leak accidentally spilled into the river.

And in Savannah, Georgia -- home to one of the largest St. Patrick's Day parties in the South -- some residents feared new restrictions to control the wild partying may drive some revelers out of town faster than St. Patrick ran the snakes out of Ireland.

The port town's six-day celebration culminates with a March 17 parade. But beer-toting partygoers will no longer be able to roam freely, and they'll have to pay to enter the city's party center on River Street.

To curb overcrowding and underage drinking, the city has put up temporary gates on River Street. Those who want to drink will have to fork over $4 for a wristband. St. PatrickÕs Day events in Savannah have drawn as many as 500,000 people in past years. But since the holiday falls in the middle of the week, city officials expect only 300,000 this year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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