Early snowstorm pelts East Coast

Associated Press

STATE COLLEGE, Pa.

An unusually early and powerful nor’easter along the East Coast began dumping several inches of wet, heavy snow Saturday that weighed down or toppled leafy trees and power lines and combined with high winds to knock out power to hundreds of thousands.

Communities inland were getting hit hardest, with eastern Pennsylvania serving as the bull’s-eye for the storm, said National Weather Service spokesman Chris Vaccaro. Some places got more than half a foot of snow, and towns near the Maryland-Pennsylvania border saw 10 inches fall. New York City’s Central Park set a record for both the date and the month of October with 1.3 inches of snow by midafternoon and more falling.

More than 1.7 million customers lost power from Maryland north through Massachusetts, and utilities were bringing in crews from other states to help restore it. Half a million were without power in New Jersey, including Gov. Chris Christie, who declared a state of emergency. Throughout the region, officials had warned that the early storm would bring sticky snow on the heels of the week’s warmer weather and could create dangerous conditions. New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts declared states of emergencies. Connecticut authorities blamed at least one traffic death on the storm.

The storm was expected to worsen as it swept north. The heaviest snowfall was forecast for later Saturday into today in the Massachusetts Berkshires, the Litchfield Hills in northwestern Connecticut, southwestern New Hampshire and the southern Green Mountains. Wind gusts of up to 50 mph were predicted especially along coastal areas.

A steady midday heavy snow pelted the field at Beaver Stadium in State College, where No. 21 Penn State was to host Illinois. Several inches had fallen by the midafternoon kickoff.