New England gets another winter blast

BOSTON - The latest blast of snow to hit New England dumped more than a foot in part of Massachusetts and packed heavy winds that left thousands without power Sunday on Cape Cod.

Coastal areas in Maine and south of Boston appeared to get the worst of the storm overnight. In Massachusetts, 15 inches of snow was reported in Sandwich and 10 inches was reported in New Bedford and Plymouth.

Wind gusts of more than 50 m.p.h. were reported Saturday night on Cape Cod, where utility NStar said about 2,600 customers were without power Sunday evening. Crews from Connecticut crossed into Massachusetts to help fix the power outages after more than 13,000 customers started the morning without power.

"When they called us, they said, 'pack five days' worth of clothes,' " lineman Dan Buchanan told NECN-TV. "Whatever it takes."

In Maine, 17 inches of snow was reported in Hancock, and 16.7 in Eastport, the easternmost city in the U.S. The Department of Transportation said it deployed 375 trucks statewide at the height of the storm Saturday night.

In Rhode Island, transportation officials warned drivers to expect difficult travel conditions through the Monday morning commute, blaming strained road salt supplies that forced them to apply only a limited amount ahead of the storm.

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation said that it was applying sand for traction on roadways that were left covered with snow and ice, but that roads were likely to refreeze Sunday night and black ice was likely. Rhode Island received 3 to 8 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service.

Toronto has called an extreme-cold-weather alert as the temperature was expected to drop to minus-5 Sunday night. The alert triggers additional services for the homeless. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in parts of Newfoundland were warning residents only to venture out in emergencies because of whiteout driving conditions.