Travel bans lifted as NY escapes worst of snow

A blizzard swept across the northeastern United States today, dropping more than 30cm of snow across Massachusetts and Connecticut.

But its impact on New York City fell short of dire predictions.

The governors of New York and New Jersey lifted travel bans they had imposed a day earlier and New York City's subway system was set to restart, though officials urged people who did not have to drive to stay off snow-covered roads.

A blizzard warning remained in effect for much of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, where snow was expected to go on falling through the day at a rate as high as 5-8cm an hour.

However, the National Weather Service lifted its blizzard warning for the New York City area.             

Some in New York criticised the aggressive warnings of officials including Mayor Bill de Blasio, who for the first time in history ordered the city's subway to close for a snowstorm.

Officials with vivid memories of disasters including 2012's Superstorm Sandy defended their actions.             

Some cab drivers in New York doubled fares and sought to pack additional passengers into their vehicles as office workers headed to their jobs.             

On New York's Long Island, Suffolk County Police said a teenager died late last night when he crashed into a lamppost in the street where he was snow-tubing.             

The New York Stock Exchange opened as usual, said spokesman Eric Ryan. Nasdaq OMX Group, and BATS Global Markets also expected to stay open for normal operating hours.  

The last time bad weather closed the stock markets was in October 2012 when Sandy hit the east coast.           

Travel was still badly hit, with more than 4,500 flights cancelled at US airports.                   

New Yorkers were divided on whether officials had over-reacted in ordering dramatic shutdowns ahead of the storm.           

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo defended the decisions, which had included a driving ban in New York City and its surrounding counties overnight.             

"I would rather, if there is a lean one way or another, lean towards safety because I have seen the consequences the other way and it gets very frightening very quickly.

"We have had people die in storms," Mr Cuomo told reporters. "I would rather be in a situation where we say 'We got lucky'."           

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declares State of Emergency

Some of the heaviest snowfall was recorded in parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts, with about 50cm reported in around Worcester, well over 15cm reported in New York City's Central Park.             

Suffolk County, east of New York City, also saw 60cm of snow in spots.             

Fewer Massachusetts residents and businesses lost power than  expected, said Governor Charlie Baker, saying that temperatures well below freezing had resulted in light snow.

High winds could yet result in additional outages, he said.             

"We'll continue to see high winds throughout the course of the day," Mr Baker said. "People should spend the morning digging out, cleaning up."             

Significant flooding was reported in coastal communities south of Boston, the state police said.

Sustained winds in the area might hit 64km/h, though gusts as high as 126km/h were recorded on the island of Nantucket, off Massachusetts, where extensive power outages were reported.

 Massachusetts' Pilgrim nuclear plant powered down after lines allowing it to transmit electricity went down, officials said.

The United Nations headquarters gave itself a day off. East coast schools, including New York City - the nation's largest public school system, serving 1m students - shut down.

Universities, including Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, cancelled classes.           

Coastal flood warnings were issued from Delaware to Maine, and National Weather Service officials reported today that waves just a few kilometres outside of Boston Harbour approached six metres.             

Amtrak suspended rail services between New York and Boston, and into New York State, Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine.

Gallery: Blizzard hits eastern US

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