More than 1,400 flights cancelled in the US after northeast storm

More than 1,400 US flights have been cancelled after the northeastern part of the United States was hit by a powerful winter storm.

Several US states had declared emergencies in response to the storm on Saturday, which formed in the Atlantic Ocean off the Carolinas and was forecast to continue depositing snow into Sunday as it moved north to Maine.

The total number of flight cancellations within, into, or out of the US on Sunday was 1,411 as of 12:55pm ET (17:55 GMT), according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.com.

Meanwhile, another 1,105 US-related flights were delayed, the website showed.

A man walks with snow shoes after a blizzard hit the Northeast in Centereach, New York

The LaGuardia Airport and the John F Kennedy International Airport in New York City and the Boston Logan International Airport each had more than 200 flight cancellations as of early on Sunday.

The fierce winter storm on Saturday dropped more than 60cm (2 feet) of snow on some areas while packing strong winds, leading governors in Rhode Island and other states to curtail access to the roads.

New York’s Long Island town of Islip was the hardest hit statewide, Governor Kathy Hochul told WCBS-TV on Sunday.

“We’re going to give them the golden snowball award for this week, this storm. They were at 24.7 inches [63cm],” Hochul said.

Much quieter weather was expected across the US East Coast on Sunday, the National Weather Service said.

The weather may have contributed to the death of an elderly woman who was found on Saturday in a hotel parking lot in Uniondale, New York, with her car window open, according to an officer at the Nassau County Police Department in Long Island.

Power outages

Massachusetts bore the brunt of the storm, with the neighbouring towns of Sharon and Stoughton getting more than 76cm (30 inches) of snow before the storm moved out.

The wind continued raging as more than 100,000 households lost power, mostly in Massachusetts, hampering crews’ ability to work on overhead lines.

About 53,000 out of 2.6 million customers in the state were without electricity as of early Sunday, according to the PowerOutage.us website.

A dusting of snow falls at dawn as the beginning of a major snow storm arrive

Coastal towns flooded, with wind and waves battering North Weymouth, south of Boston, flooding streets with frigid water, according to video posted on social media.

Other videos showed a street underwater on Nantucket and waves crashing against the windows of a building in Plymouth.

In neighbouring Canada, the worst of the cold weather was over in Atlantic Canada, but many communities were dealing with residual blowing snow, rain, strong winds and storm surge on Sunday, according to the Weather Network channel.