Falling tree kills woman in snow-hit New York City

A major spring storm brought heavy snow, rain and high winds to the northeastern U.S. into Thursday, downing trees and power lines and leaving nearly 700,000 homes and businesses without power. A woman was reported killed by a falling tree in a New York City suburb.

Two feet of snow is possible in parts of northern New England by Thursday evening, with wind gusts of 80 to 97 km/h in coastal areas as well as inland, according to the U.S. National Weather Service.

Maine and New Hampshire bore the brunt of the power outages. Officials said the heavy, wet snow was to blame for bringing down trees and power lines. Power outages decreased from more than 700,000 to about 630,000 by the afternoon.

“This was pretty much a classic nor’easter,” said Stephen Baron, a meteorologist for the weather service in York, Maine. “This is definitely a high-end storm for April. It’s not crazy for us to get snow in April but not usually getting double-digit amounts.”

The weather service said it was the biggest April nor’easter to hit the region since 2020.

In Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, some residents who had lost power checked in at the Wolfeboro Inn, general manager Shawn Black said.

“This is a lot of heavy, wet snow,” he said. “And the wind is out of the northeast, so it’s really not nice in a sense of temperature-wise, especially when the speed gets up. While I was out on the snowblower I could really feel my forehead just go numb.”

On Wednesday, a tree fell on a vehicle in the hamlet of Armonk, Westchester County, New York, killing a woman who was the only person inside, police said. Snow made travel treacherous, Numerous traffic accidents were reported in northern parts of New England and New York.