Blizzard parlayses Northeast US

BOSTON - Large parts of the Northeastern United States lay buried under several feet of snow on Sunday by a blizzard that paralysed road and air travel and cut power to thousands of customers.

A powerful "nor'easter" storm that earlier wrought havoc in the US Midwest and mid-Atlantic states battered coastal New England with hurricane-force gusts of wind and dumped more than 700mm of snow on some areas.

The storm's impact could be felt across the Atlantic as dozens of flights at London's Heathrow airport were cancelled to and from New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington.

Boston's Logan airport said it was forced to close as crews could not keep runways clear. Bradley International Airport in Connecticut was also shuttered until midday on Sunday, a state emergency management official said.

Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney declared a state of emergency on Saturday, allowing him to call on the National Guard if needed.

Officials said New Englanders were generally heeding warnings to stay off roads amid the risk of deep snow drifts.

In Connecticut and Massachusetts, about 3000 customers were without power as of 9am, emergency officials said.

Washington-area airports were open on Sunday, with some flight delays due to closures or severely curtailed flights out of airports in the Northeast. The Washington region received 10 to 18cm of snow on Saturday.

The US Midwest was digging out from the storm that snarled travel when it dumped more than a foot of snow in some areas starting on Friday night.

High winds and poor visibility produced white-out conditions and times, making driving treacherous.

More than 440 flights had been canceled at Chicago's two main airports, the city's aviation department said on Saturday. A further 372 flights were cancelled at the airports on Friday, and flights that were able to take off were subject to delays of up to a few hours.

Minnesota's ski resort operators cheered as the snow moved on and the sun came out.

Until Friday, almost all of the resort's snow this season had been man-made. The lure of 20cm of fresh powder boosted attendance by about 25 per cent, said Mike Kelly, vice president of Wild Mountain ski and snowboard resort in Taylor Falls, Minnesota.

- REUTERS