Travel Stalls in Storm’s Wake

The fierce snowstorm gripping the Northeast grounded air travel, turned highways into slick sheets of ice and accounted for at least 10 deaths, authorities said Sunday.

The season’s first major storm dumped nearly 3 feet of snow in western Maine. Eastern New York state and Connecticut recorded up to 2 feet of snow, and parts of Pennsylvania measured 15 inches.

In the Boston area, several towns were digging out from more than 2 feet of snow by the time the storm began to peter out late Sunday.

But heavy winds persisted even as the snowfall lessened. At the observatory atop New Hampshire’s Mt. Washington -- the Northeast’s highest point and, many say, its coldest -- meteorologist Tim Markoe said winds gusted at 98 mph.

“It has actually been a pretty impressive storm,” said Markoe. “Right now, atop the summit, we’ve got pretty much white-out conditions.”

But Markoe lamented that because of the wind, most of the snow on the mountain was falling horizontally, leaving just 7.6 inches of new snow on the ground.

“We’re big weather geeks up here,” he said. “We like to see really big snowfalls.”

Hundreds of crews worked to clear the streets of Boston. The city had settled a contract dispute with plow operators only hours before the weekend storm hit the area. In the Boston suburb of Canton, plow operator Joe Smith stumbled home after working 30 hours straight to keep ahead of the steady deluge of thick, heavy snow.

“Right now, I just want a nap,” Smith said.

Boston officials patrolled the streets to urge the city’s homeless residents to seek shelter or at least to accept free blankets. City officials also enforced snow emergency regulations banning parking on busy streets. Boston residents who shoveled snow into the streets were slapped with $250 fines.

As the wind-chill factor lowered the temperature to zero, the management of the New England Patriots lifted a security-based ban on blankets, allowing fans in Foxboro to bundle up as the team battled the Miami Dolphins. Patriots fans also were advised to bring shovels to clear out their seats.

Proving their hardiness, New England fans turned adversity into advantage when Patriots linebacker Teddy Bruschi scored the first touchdown. The Pats fans celebrated by throwing snow into the air like confetti.

Along the coast, waves crashed over seawalls, flooding streets and sending salt water into beach house basements.

“The water on the street was 2 or 3 feet deep,” said George Anderson, fire captain in Scituate, Mass., a town southeast of Boston.

Close to 20,000 homes in eastern Massachusetts lost power, utilities officials said.

The storm prompted many residents to avoid treacherous road travel and hunker down at home. Shopping malls were all but deserted. Ralph Constantine, owner of three Boston-area restaurants, said his normal weekend traffic was down 50%.

The storm even delayed a National Guard homecoming in Rhode Island. Forty Rhode Island Air National Guard troops who were expected to arrive Sunday at a base in North Kingstown had to be rescheduled for a Monday arrival, said Lt. Col. Michael McNamara.

Travelers camped out at Boston’s Logan International Airport after it closed late Saturday. A single runway reopened just after noon Sunday, but dozens of flights were backed up, airport spokesman Phil Orlandella said.

Hundreds of flights were canceled Saturday at the New York City area’s three major airports, and Philadelphia also had cancellations.

The storm caused traffic fatalities from Virginia to Vermont. A 25-year-old Rhode Island man died when the inner tube he was riding on -- towed behind a truck -- hit a utility pole.

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Associated Press contributed to this report.