Blizzard buffets U.S. East Coast with deep snow, winds, flooding

A nor'easter with hurricane-force wind gusts battered much of the U.S. East Coast on Saturday, flinging heavy snow that made travel treacherous or impossible, flooding coastlines, and threatening to leave bitter cold in its wake.

The storm thrashed parts of 10 states, with blizzard warnings that stretched from Virginia to Maine. Philadelphia and New York saw plenty of wind and snow, but Boston was in the crosshairs. The city could get more than 61 centimetres of snow by the time it moves out early Sunday.

Winds gusted as high as 134 kph on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. More than 45 centimetres of snow had fallen by midafternoon on part of Long Island in New York, while Bayville, New Jersey, had 48 centimetres.

The wind scoured the ground bare in some spots and piled the snow into huge drifts in others.

Forecasters watched closely for new snowfall records, especially in Boston, where the heaviest snow was expected later Saturday. The Boston area's modern snowfall record is 27.6 inches 70 centimetres, set in 2003.