The department put out a public safety advisory and cited calls related to individuals being overcome while trying to stay warm in vehicles in which exhaust pipes were blocked by snow.

In Poughkeepsie, New York, an 18-year-old woman lost control of her car in the falling snow and struck a 74-year-old man walking near the side of the road, police said. He later died from his injuries.

Other accidents occurred in Connecticut and southern Ontario.

Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island ahead of the storm ordered all non-emergency vehicles off the streets under threat of imprisonment and fines -- up to a year in jail and $500 in Rhode Island.

Rail transportation came to a virtual halt, with commuter trains running on a patchwork schedule.

Snow piles up; power goes out

Connecticut saw the most accumulation, with 40 inches in Hamden. At its height, the storm heaped snow on the state at a frenzied rate of 4 to 5 inches an hour.

iReporter Scott Green posted a photo of his deck in Cromwell -- covered waist-high with snow.

In Massachusetts, Worcester and Boston received 27 and 21 inches, respectively, with winds howling up to a hurricane-strength 75 mph.

Snowfall in Manhattan reached just under a foot, with heavier accumulations in Long Island, where 27 inches fell in Stony Brook.

"This state had consequences, but nothing like our neighboring states," said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. He announced Saturday plans to send utility workers and snow plows to New England to help with recovery.

Snowfall blanketed an area from eastern Pennsylvania to Maine, with overnight lows under 20 degrees as governors in six states declared states of emergency.

The states hardest hit in terms of power outages were Massachusetts and Rhode Island. By Saturday evening, close to 308,000 customers were without power in Massachusetts, while more than 115,000 customers remained without electricity in Rhode Island.

Electricity dropped out at a nuclear power plant in Plymouth, Massachusetts, said fire spokesman Ed Bradley, but backup generators sprang into action.

Stranded at the Walmart

More than two dozen people were forced to spend the night at a Walmart in Long Island.

"The roads were just completely impassable," said Jean Miller, who spent at least seven hours on the road before throwing in the towel.

"We were just happy to be indoors and not out there," she said. Miller, whose home is just two miles from the store, says she plans to stay so long as road conditions are dangerous and Walmart allows it.

"They equaled the Red Cross," she said of the big-box retailer.

Hoops snowed out