Snow covers idle rental vehicles parked in a lot near Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn., Monday Oct. 31, 2011. More than 750,000 customers in the state were without power from the storm, which set Connecticut records for outages and snowfall so early in the season. (AP Photo/Bettina Hansen, Pool)Meteorologically, it was a near-perfect storm that brought much of the Northeast to a near-standstill over the weekend, and quite possibly for days to come. Snow — lots of it — high winds and trees still laden with leaves combined to create havoc from Maryland to Maine. With up to 30-inches of snow reported in some sites, the early storm was one for the record. And the aftermath was something more common to the heart of winter than the last days of October.
The power of the storm — which occurred several weeks before the usual initial measurable snowfall of the season — caught residents and public officials off guard. Of course, it’s hard to get ready for snow when leaves are on the trees, Halloween has yet to arrive and temperatures are near normal.
The storm dumped record or near record snow across inland New England. Western Massachusetts was hardest hit, with several communities reporting more than 25 inches. Totals in double digits were common elsewhere, too. States of emergency were declared in at least four states.
Tree damage was widespread, worse in some instances than that caused by a winter storm. Unfallen leaves, experts said, let snow accumulate on branches, eventually snapping them. They fell onto power lines, streets and homes with predictable results. Even trees in places with relatively little snowfall suffered. New York City, for example, recorded just over an inch of snow, but officials said at least 1,000 trees in Central Park were damaged.
At storm’s end, about 3 million homes and businesses were without power, though the number had dropped below 2 million by late Monday. That’s cold comfort for more than a few people. Officials said that some residents in the region could be without power for several days or perhaps a week.