Winter storm lashes US East Coast with deep snow, high winds

A winter storm lashed the north-east United States with deep snow and wind gusts near hurricane force on Saturday, causing coastal flooding and threatening widespread power outages while forecasters warned conditions would worsen as the day went on.

Parts of 10 states and some major population centres – including Philadelphia, New York and Boston – were pummelled by the storm. By late morning, more than a foot (30cm) of snow had fallen on parts of New Jersey’s shore and eastern Long Island.

Boston, in the storms crosshairs, could get as much as 2 feet (61cm) of snow. Isolated pockets nearby could get as much as 3 feet (1 metre), forecasters said. Winds gusted as high as 70mph (113kph) on Nantucket Island off Massachusetts and over 60mph (96kph) elsewhere in eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Most flights into and out of the airports serving New York, Boston and Philadelphia were cancelled on Saturday, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. More than 4,500 flights were cancelled across the US. Amtrak cancelled all of its high-speed Acela trains between Boston and Washington and cancelled or limited other services in the region.

Across the region, residents hunkered down and avoided travel at the behest of government leaders, who warned of whiteout conditions.

In the seaside town of Newburyport, north of Boston near the New Hampshire border, officials strongly encouraged residents living along the shore to move to higher ground.

Video posted on social media showed wind and waves battering North Weymouth, south of Boston, flooding streets with a slurry of frigid water. Other video showed a street under water on Nantucket.

Tens of thousands of homes and businesses lost power in Massachusetts, with failures mounting. No other states reported widespread outages.