A powerful blizzard pounded the US northeast on Sunday, leaving thousands of air travelers stranded and dumping a record snowfall on New York.
Authorities in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern states worked to clear roads and restore services after the massive storm system moved across the region on Saturday.
With winds gusting up to 80kph in the northern reaches of the weather front from New York to eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned of a "dangerous winter storm."
"This is a dangerous and life-threatening situation. Travel is not recommended and will be seriously impacted by the combination of strong winds, poor visibility and snow covered roads. For your safety, remain indoors," the NWS warned on its Web site.
The snowfall buried a 58-year-old record in New York City, piling up 68.33cm on the ground in Central Park, Bruce Sullivan, senior NWS forecaster, said.
The previous record of 67.06cm was set in 1947, he said.
"New York City has just experienced the biggest blizzard in its history," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement.
"It's about the only time the city really looks beautiful to me," said Shaun Ammerman, 43, of Brooklyn Heights, as he brushed snow off his car. "It's nice and quiet. You don't hear the roar of cars and trucks."
In the city's Greenwich Village, a pair of women on skis were enjoying the freshly powdered streets.
"We waited until the wind had died down. We wanted to get out and exercise, it's fun, you meet people, everybody is much more friendly when it snows," Fredda Seidenbaum said.
"It's really nice to be able to ski in our neighborhood. Tomorrow I'm going to ski in Central Park, before the snow melts," she said
Bloomberg had warned earlier that the storm was dangerous, with gusting winds to 60kph and extremely poor visibility, according to the city's official Web site.
More than 200,000 people from Virginia to Massachusetts were without electricity as more than 1m of snow blanketed the region, power companies said.
By late Sunday some airports had reopened, including John F. Kennedy International, where arriving flights were delayed an average of four hours and 20 minutes, the Federal Aviation Administration said in an update.
A Turkish Airlines jet with 198 passengers on board skidded off a runway at John F. Kennedy International on Sunday during the storm, a transport spokesman said.
The plane was landing when it "veered off the runway onto a grassy area, but there were no injuries," said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He did not know the number of crew on board.
All passengers were safely unloaded and brought to the terminal by bus, Coleman added.
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