Americans dig out after snowstorms

North-eastern Americans climbed through snowdrifts and navigated icy streets and pavements as they dug out from a weekend storm that dumped more than two feet of snow in some places.

The powerful storm that started ploughing up the coast on Friday began losing strength last night. At least 11 deaths were linked to the storm around the north east.

Jim Casey was out clearing his pavement in Nahant, Massachusetts, 15 miles north of Boston, yesterday, with his two-year-old daughter Anya, who cradled a child-sized shovel in her arms.

“This is very heavy snow, but it’s great,” said Casey, 35. “We went down to the beach and took a Christmas picture in front of the waves.”

National Weather Service meteorologist Charlie Foley said the storm’s centre was about 100 miles east of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, last night. As it moved slowly out to sea, it gave a parting slap to the coast with gusting wind that drove heavy surf onto the shore.

The wind downed trees and power lines in Massachusetts, and utilities reported about 8,000 power cuts yesterday along the Massachusetts coast.

At high tide yesterday morning, waves crashed over sea walls in coastal towns.

Nearly three feet of snow fell in western Maine, and up to two feet fell in eastern New York’s Rensselaer County. As much as 20 inches fell in Connecticut; Clarksburg, Pennsylvania, measured 15 inches; and up to 19 inches fell on New York’s Long Island.

The storm gave some students and teachers an extra day off, with more than 200 schools across Massachusetts planning to close today. During the weekend, the storm had disrupted school events, holiday shopping, sports events and college entrance exams.

Boston’s Logan Airport closed on Saturday evening and did not get a runway reopened until just after noon yesterday. Hundreds of flights were cancelled on Saturday at the New York City area’s three major airports, and Philadelphia also had cancellations. At some airports, stalled travellers had to spend the night sleeping on cots.