A major winter storm bringing heavy snow and freezing rain to some communities spread across New England on Sunday, sending residents scurrying for their shovels and snowblowers to clear sidewalks and driveways.
Some communities in Massachusetts had recorded more than a foot of snow by Sunday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. That includes 14.5 inches in Southwick, 14.8 inches in South Hadley and 12.5 inches in Easthampton.
Nearly 13,000 electric customers in the state were without power Sunday afternoon. That number was down below 6,000 on Monday morning — with western Massachusetts largely unaffected.
Many western Massachusetts schools — but far from all — are delaying their opening by two hours Monday morning, MassLive reported.
Hundreds of flights at Boston Logan International Airport were delayed or canceled Sunday according to tracking website FlightAware. Some flights were also affected at Hartford's Bradley airport, according to NBC Connecticut.
On Sunday afternoon, many people were digging out — or digging out others.
In Hadley, Massachusetts, Maria Konieczny — on winter break from college — was working for her dad, who plows dozens of driveways. They began work at 3 a.m. Sunday, and her job is to shovel walkways.
"It's lots of lifting. It hurts your back a ton," she said. "It's really early and you get really tired really fast!"
About a quarter-mile away, Erin Flanigan had just finished clearing her own driveway with a snowblower. It's been a long time since she used it, Flanigan said, and she sort of wishes she had hired somebody:
"We don't get as much snow as we used to and it would have been more economical to have somebody do it a couple of times a year!" she said.
The storm reached into Maine with snow totals of up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) in some places — with locally higher amounts over southern New Hampshire and southwestern Maine. Wind gusts up 35 mph (56 kph) could add to blowing and drifting snow. Moderate to heavy snow was expected to continue in Vermont, with total snow accumulations of 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 centimeters).
Forecasters also warned of another Northeast storm Tuesday into Wednesday that is expected to drop heavy rain on already saturated ground. They warned of possible flooding and coastal flooding and a threat of damaging winds that could topple trees and power lines.
This post contains information from NEPM's Jill Kaufman.