Residents of some northeastern U.S. states are beginning to dig out while others are still taking shelter from a monster blizzard that is thrashing the area with heavy snow and powerful winds Monday.
The storm has been bringing powerful winds and heavy snowfall to the East Coast since Sunday, creating new travel woes by grounding flights, cutting off rail and bus service, and putting roads and highways in terrible condition.
Thousands of people are stranded in airports and train stations for the second day as they try to get home after the holidays. Homes in New Jersey and Massachusetts are without electricity due to widespread outages and people are being urged to stay off snow-packed roads as the nor'easter moves into Atlantic Canada.
Blizzard warnings remain in effect from Delaware to Maine with some cities, including New York City, expected to be buried under as much as 76 centimetres of snow by the time the winter storm is finished.
It's the latest December storm to create widespread chaos and paralyze travel to and from major cities. The bulk of this one is moving into Maine after battering areas as far south as the Carolinas.
The snow is beginning to taper off in New York City, which got about 35 cm more snow than expected and was one of the worst-hit areas.
The city is almost at a standstill with major disruptions to public transit and regional rail lines.
More than 2,400 sanitation workers were working in 12-hour shifts Monday to clear New York City's 9,600 kilometres of streets.
Runways are still closed at John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports and across the river at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport, resulting in hundreds of flight cancellations or delays.
Travellers have their fingers crossed as flights are scheduled to resume Monday afternoon, although it might take days for service to get back to normal. Airlines are scrambling to rebook passengers.
But whiteout conditions and snow drifts are making driving treacherous or almost impossible. One man was killed after his pickup truck crashed into a tree during whiteout conditions in Wells, Maine, on Sunday night.
The governments of Massachusetts and New Jersey are among six to declare states of emergency, giving state employees and those who weren't already on vacation a snow day.
In greater Boston, highways into the city were nearly abandoned early Monday.
The storm pushed Sunday night's NFL game between the Philadelphia Eagles and visiting Minnesota Vikings to Tuesday when calmer conditions are expected.
Many people remain in the dark, however. Widespread power outages are reported by utility providers in several states.
The storm is the result of a low-pressure system that strengthened as it moved northeast from North Carolina's coast. Parts of southern states had their first white Christmas since records have been kept.
With files from The Associated Press
