US Northeast digs out; big tornado hits South

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts/New York—The US Northeast was digging out on Sunday after a blizzard dumped up to one meter (40 inches) of snow with hurricane force winds, killing at least nine people and leaving hundreds of thousands without power.

As the Northeast cleared roads and shoveled out, another storm bore down on the Northern Plains and tornadoes threatened the Southeast in a weekend of extreme weather across the United States.

A tornado which appeared to be a mile wide touched down in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, causing significant damage, said Anna Weber of the National Weather Service. The twister also hit the nearby town of Petal where it destroyed a brick building.

In New York City trucks plowed through residential streets, piling snow even higher at the edges and leaving thousands of motorists to dig out their buried vehicles.

Another round of severe weather on Monday could bring more misery, with freezing rain and more snow predicted that would make the evening commute even more difficult.

In Boston, Mayor Tom Menino canceled school on Monday after touring neighborhoods throughout the city, where 60 centimeters of snow fell.

Utility companies reported that some 350,000 customers were still without electricity across nine states after the wet, heavy snow brought down tree branches and power lines.

Air traffic began to return to normal after some 5,800 flights were canceled on Friday and Saturday, according to Flightaware, a flight-tracking service.

Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, and New York state’s Long Island MacArthur Airport reopened on Sunday morning. Boston’s Logan International Airport reopened late on Saturday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Rare travel bans in Connecticut and Massachusetts were lifted but roads throughout the region remained treacherous, according to state transportation departments.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, residents were digging out their cars and driveways under clear blue skies on Sunday afternoon.

As the region recovered, another large winter storm building across the Northern Plains was expected to leave 30 cm of snow and bring high winds from Colorado to central Minnesota into Monday, the National Weather Service said.

South Dakota was expected to be hardest hit, with winds seen reaching 80 kph, which would create white-out conditions. The storm was expected to reach parts of Nebraska, North Dakota, Wyoming and Wisconsin.