Gusty winds and frigid temperatures plunged the US East Coast into a deep freeze Sunday after a strong northeasterly wind dumped drifts of snow, flooded coastlines and knocked out power to thousands of customers.
Dangerous sub-zero winds and snowfall chilled many places from Virginia to Maine. Philadelphia and New York got a lot of snow, but Massachusetts bore the brunt of the storm , with the neighboring cities of Sharon and Stoughton getting more than 30 inches of snow before the storm passed.
The wind caused more than 100,000 users to lose power, mainly in Massachusetts, which prevented crews from working on the overhead wiring. By Sunday morning, only about 50,000 customers were without power, mostly on Cape Cod. No other states reported widespread blackouts.
Wind gusts reached 83 miles (134 kph) on Cape Cod, scouring the ground in some places and piling up snow in huge piles in others. Coastal towns were inundated, with wind and waves lashing north of Weymouth, south of Boston, drenching streets with icy water, according to videos posted on social media. Other videos showed a street under water in Nantucket and waves crashing against the windows of a building in Plymouth.
Forecasters were expecting record snowfall, especially in Boston. The modern Boston-area snowfall record for a winter storm is 70 centimeters (27.6 in), set in 2003.
The city tied its record for the most snowfall in a single day on Saturday, with 60 cm (23.6 inches), the National Weather Service said.
The snowfall in New England drew comparisons to the infamous 1978 blizzard , which brought the region to a standstill for days.