Power Outage, Northeast | featured news

A blizzard packing hurricane-force winds hammered the northeastern United States on Saturday, cutting power to 700,000 homes and businesses, shutting down travel and leaving at least nine people dead.

A religious statue stands in the fire-scorched landscape of Breezy Point after a Nor'easter snow, Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012 in New York. The beachfront neighborhood was devastated during Superstorm Sandy when a fire pushed by the raging winds destroyed many homes.

Several hundred thousand Connecticut residents were still without power following last weekend's snow storm, but one of them may be holding a Powerball ticket worth $245 million.

Parts of New England were expected to hit the low 50s Tuesday, which could be considered balmy to some who braved the freak October snowstorm that dropped more than 2 feet of snow in some places over the weekend.

At least 2.3 million people across the Northeast found themselves without electricity after an unusual autumn storm dumped record amounts of snow. More than 2.3 million customers from Pennsylvania through New England had no electricity, according to reports, as the region was lashed by surprisingly high winds and snowdrifts. In Manhattan, tree branches snapped under the weight of wet snow, piling up along 5th Avenue and toppling across and obstructing the walkways of Central Park.

Strong winds and heavy rain pounded parts of the Northeast, knocking out power to nearly 400,000 customers and diverting international flights.