A storm with winds topping 129km/h has lashed the US East Coast from Maine to Virginia as it flooded streets in Boston, grounded flights, halted trains and claimed at least one life.
Almost 1.7 million homes and businesses were without power in the Northeast and Midwest, and government offices in Washington closed as winds gusted to more than 96km/h in the US capital.
A flood surge at extreme high tide sent seawater into Boston's coastal streets, the second time this year that the area had flooded. Wind gusts approaching 113km/h helped force in the water while downing trees and power lines.
Officials said that high tide could come close to reaching a record level due to the combination of high winds, waves and storm surge.
Commuters ecperienced major delays after the New York and Boston rail service was suspended. Source: AAP
At least one person was killed. A 77-year-old woman was struck by a falling tree branch outside her home near Kingsville, Maryland, about 16km northeast of Baltimore, a Baltimore County Fire Department spokesman said.
Emergency workers in Washington also pulled a man with life-threatening injuries from a car that was struck by a falling tree, the fire department there said.
Private forecasting service AccuWeather said the storm dumped as much as 46cm of snow on parts of upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania.
It also snarled transportation from the Middle Atlantic into New England, with more than a quarter of flights into and out of New York's three major airports and Boston's airport cancelled.
One flight landing at Washington's Dulles International Airport came in through turbulence so rough that most passengers became sick and the pilots were on the verge of becoming ill, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Passenger railroad Amtrak halted service between Boston and Washington through Friday as well as south of the capital because of downed trees blocking tracks. Some regional commuter trains in Maryland and Virginia were also cancelled.
Hayes said top wind speeds had been clocked at 134km/h in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and reached 125km/h at Etlan, Virginia.
