US: Large parts of the northeastern United States lay buried under several feet of snow yesterday after a blizzard severely curbed road and air travel and cut power to thousands.
A powerful storm that earlier wrought havoc in the US midwest and mid-Atlantic states battered coastal New England with strong winds and dumped more than two feet of snow on some areas.
The storm's impact could be felt across the Atlantic as flights were cancelled to and from New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington. In all, US carriers reported hundreds of flight cancellations.
Boston's Logan airport shut down as crews could not keep runways clear amid near-whiteout conditions.
Major airports in Connecticut and Rhode Island were also shuttered yesterday.
The storm hit Rhode Island particularly hard, with snow falling on that state at a rate of 3 to 4 inches an hour, one official said. Governor Donald Carcieri ordered most state and municipal government offices to be closed today and asked businesses to do the same so crews could dig out roads.
"What makes this so bad is the wind," said Lieut Col Mike McNamara of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency.
"The way the wind is drifting everything is making it hazardous to be out on the roads." States of emergency were declared in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, with National Guard troops helping to clear roads and evacuate citizens from coastal areas.
At least 25,000 customers in southeast Massachusetts were without power.
New Yorkers began digging out from more than a foot of snow the storm dumped on the region on Saturday and early yesterday.
A total of 13 inches had fallen in Central Park, but 18 inches or more were recorded in the worst-hit areas of eastern Long Island, where some 10,000 residents lost power, and in New Jersey's northwestern suburbs.
New York's subway was running, and in line with tradition, the shows went on on Broadway. The snowfall tapered off in the city by mid-morning.
All three New York-area airports - John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark International - reported hundreds of cancellations and widespread delays, with the first flight since Saturday arriving at LaGuardia at mid-morning yesterday.
Hundreds of passengers were stranded overnight at the airports, sleeping in lounges and waiting areas.
A 747 cargo plane skidded off a runway at JFK on Saturday night, but no one was injured.
New Jersey lifted a travel ban imposed on Saturday on non-emergency vehicles, but officials asked residents to keep off the roads if possible.
About a foot of snow also fell in Philadelphia.