Northeast digging out from latest blast of winter weather

Northeast digging out from latest blast of winter weather

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Northeast is digging out from the latest blast of winter weather that dumped well over two feet of snow on some areas and made travel treacherous.

The storm was most active from New York to Maine, where blizzard conditions shut down towns.

Schools around the region delayed or canceled classes Monday, including in Boston and some areas of New York state. By Monday night, some schools already had canceled classes for Tuesday.

Some Maine towns, including Starks and Nobleboro, saw at least 30 inches of snow Sunday into Monday. There were also reports of thunder and lightning accompanying the snow in Nobleboro. And the Mountain Washington Avalanche Center issued an extreme avalanche danger warning on two trails.

In New Hampshire, Bristol saw 28 inches of snow and Nashua got a little more than 13 inches.

In Hopkinton, New Hampshire, attorney Matt Lane said he was surprised by how much snow had fallen.

"Up until last week we didn't have very much; we had a little but not like this. And now suddenly, you can't see over the snowbanks when you're backing out of the driveway, and we've been running the snow blower 24-7," he said.

Nearly all flights in and out of the airport in Manchester, New Hampshire, were canceled. The airport in Portland, Maine, also was closed.

Farther south, there was less snow — just a few inches fell in Boston and Hartford, Connecticut.

Strong winds created problems in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where a tree branch crashed through a car windshield in Mechanicsburg, killing the driver. Just north of New York City, a Metro-North train struck a fallen tree, damaging the train and hampering service for hours, but causing no injuries. About 100 passengers were on board. And in Queens, the canopy of a gas station was ripped down as winds gusted up to 60 mph in some areas.

The new snow came on the heels of a storm last week that dumped 19 inches on parts of Maine.

Raychell Libby, from Portland, walked through a path that had been cut through the snow, piled hip-high.

"I really love the paths that are made afterward," she said as she chugged along and walked Logan, her 7-year-old Catahoula mix. "It's kind of like a winter wonderland."

Residents likely will be seeing snow for quite a while with more forecast to fall on Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts on Wednesday.

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Associated Press writers Marina Villeneuve in Portland, Maine; Holly Ramer in Hopkinton, New Hampshire; and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.