Power Outage, Snow | featured news

A blizzard packing hurricane-force winds hammered the northeastern United States on Saturday, cutting power to 700,000 homes and businesses, shutting down travel and leaving at least nine people dead.

A religious statue stands in the fire-scorched landscape of Breezy Point after a Nor'easter snow, Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012 in New York. The beachfront neighborhood was devastated during Superstorm Sandy when a fire pushed by the raging winds destroyed many homes.

At least 2.3 million people across the Northeast found themselves without electricity after an unusual autumn storm dumped record amounts of snow. More than 2.3 million customers from Pennsylvania through New England had no electricity, according to reports, as the region was lashed by surprisingly high winds and snowdrifts. In Manhattan, tree branches snapped under the weight of wet snow, piling up along 5th Avenue and toppling across and obstructing the walkways of Central Park.

Wet, heavy snow that canceled flights, snapped tree branches and left thousands of people in the Denver area without power also closes dozens of schools.