Rare Oct. snowstorm hits Northeast

A downed tree limb lies across power lines in Belmont, Mass., Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011. A snowstorm with a ferocity more familiar in February than October socked the Northeast over the weekend, knocking out power to more than three million, snarling air and highway travel and dumping more than 2 feet of snow in a few spots as it slowly moved north out of New England. At least three deaths were blamed on the storm.

A tree is split in two due to heavy snow on its tree-laden branches in Belmont, Mass., Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011. Millions of people from Maine to Maryland are without power after an unseasonably early nor'easter dumped heavy, wet snow over the weekend on a region more used to gaping at leaves in October than shoveling snow.

Workers from the Connecticut Department of Transportation and Connecticut Light & Power work on downed power lines on Route 5 in South Windsor, Conn., Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. The unseasonably early nor'easter had utility companies struggling to restore electricity to more than 3 million homes and businesses in several states, including more than 800,000 customer sin Connecticut alone. By early Monday, the number of customers without power was still above 2 million but falling.

An employee of the Central Park Conservancy marks off an area of downed branches in Central Park in New York, Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. The group that manages Central Park estimates that the New York City park may lose 1,000 trees due to the unprecedented weekend snowstorm.

A worker from Connecticut Light & Power inspects a downed power line on Route 5 in South Windsor, Conn., Monday, Oct. 31, 2011. The unseasonably early nor'easter had utility companies struggling to restore electricity to more than 3 million homes and businesses.

A police officer directs traffic as a work crew repairs power lines in South Hadley, Mass., Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011. Millions of people from Maine to Maryland are without power after an unseasonably early nor'easter dumped heavy, wet snow over the weekend on a region more used to gaping at leaves in October than shoveling snow.

A car attempts to drive along Mountain Road in Cornwall, N.Y., Sunday, October 30. 2011. Millions of people from Maine to Maryland are without power after an unseasonably early nor'easter dumped heavy, wet snow over the weekend on a region more used to gaping at leaves in October than shoveling snow.

Motorists wait in line for gas at a rest area on the Massachusetts Turnpike eastbound in Charlton, Mass., Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011. Motorists hunted for open gas stations as power failures rendered pumps inoperable.

At a 7-Eleven in Hartford, Conn., two dozen cars waited early Monday in a line that stretched into the street and disrupted traffic. "There's no gas anywhere," one customer said. "It's like we're in a war zone. It's pretty scary, actually."

A fallen branch sits on the snow-covered front yard in front of Madeleine Hall of Rivier College on October 30, in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Jasmine Sarryeh, an international student at Fairleigh Dickinson University, browses the internet while staying in a shelter at the school's gym following a rare October snowstorm, Monday, Oct. 31, 2011, in Hackensack, N.J. The university has extended its invitation to students and community members who lost power during the storm.

Wearing Bermuda shorts and sneakers without socks, homeowner Vinny Frisina looks over a downed tree that collapsed on top of his car during Saturday's October snowstorm in Cortlandt, N.Y., while surveying storm damage on Sunday Oct. 30, 2011.

A man walks near a tree down on a power line a day after a snowstorm in Glastonbury, Conn., Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011.

A tree limb and power lines lie on a car in a driveway in Belmont, Mass., Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011.

Deran Muckjian clears downed tree branches from his yard in Belmont, Mass., Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011.

A pedestrian walks past a parking lot Saturday afternoon, Oct. 29, 2011 as heavy snow continues to fall in Easton, Pa.

AP Photo/The Winchester Star, Ginger Perry

Lisa Rogers of Winchester, Va., clears off her car during the height of a snow storm that hit this area on Sat., Oct. 29, 2011. Several inches of heavy, wet snow fell causing thousands to be without power due to downed trees and power lines.

Ginger Perry,AP Photo/The Winchester Star

Vehicles drive around low hanging tree limbs that were weighted down with several inches of wet snow on Merrimans Lane in Winchester, Va., on Sat. Oct. 29, 2011. The heavy, wet snow downed trees and power lines leaving thousands in the area without power.

Bayron Zamora, right, 15, and Jarell Finley, 17, look at a downed tree during a rare October snowstorm that hit the Northern New Jersey region, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011, in Lodi, N.J.

Jeremy Fultz, a volunteer firefighter with the Rouss Fire Company in Winchester, Va. keeps an eye on the area of Wolfe St. where a large tree fell on power lines on Sat. Oct. 29, 2011 during a storm that dropped several inches of wet, heavy snow. The snow caused thousands in the area to lose power.

A house is surrounded by fall foliage colors covered with heavy wet snow in Williamstown, Mass., Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011.

A Times Square Alliance worker clears snow in New York's Times Square Saturday Oct. 29, 2011. An unusual early-autumn nor'easter brought a mix of snow, rain and slush to parts of New York on Saturday, and authorities said Central Park was seeing its snowiest October on record.

A car drives around a fallen tree on Market Street as heavy snow continues to fall bringing down trees and branches throughout the region, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011 in Bethlehem, Pa.

A worker pushes a cart in falling snow before an NCAA college football game between West Virginia and Rutgers Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011, in Piscataway, N.J.

Les Lewis uses a clipboard to scrape snow off of his car window Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pa. A classic nor'easter was chugging along up the East Coast and expected to dump up to 10 inches in parts of the region starting Saturday - a decidedly unseasonal date for a type of storm more associated with midwinter.

Snow is removed from the field at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa., in preparation for an NCAA college football game between Penn St and Illinois Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011.

A car drives through the campus of Haverford College in Haverford, Pa., Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011.

A jack-o-lantern is covered with snow during a rare October snowstorm that hit the Northern New Jersey region, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011, in North Bergen, N.J.

A worker shovels snow from the seats in preparation for an NCAA college football game between Penn State and Illinois at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa., Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011.

The ground crew clears snow from the field before a game between the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at High Point Solutions Stadium on October 29, 2011 in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

A snowman stands at the entrance to an Occupy Maine protesters' camp in Lincoln Park, Sunday Oct. 30, 2011, in Portland, Maine.

An Occupy Wall Street supporter takes a peek outside his snow-sprinkled tent as the season's first snow falls over Zuccotti Park in New York, October 29, 2011.

Outdoor Halloween decorations get covered with snow Saturday Oct. 29, 2011 in New York.

Snow falls on flowers in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan on October 29, 2011 in New York City. An early winter snowstorm is delivering up to ten inches of snow to certain areas in the East Coast. In the past 135 years there have been just three days of measurable snowfall in October in New York City's Central Park.

A jogger runs through Central Park as snow falls Saturday Oct. 29, 2011 in New York.

A man walks his dog through the snow in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan on October 29, 2011 in New York City.

A couple walks through the snow in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan on October 29, 2011 in New York City. An early winter snowstorm is delivering up to ten inches of snow to certain areas in the East Coast.

A woman walks through the snow in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan on October 29, 2011 in New York City. An early winter snowstorm is delivering up to ten inches of snow to certain areas in the East Coast.

A bicyclist maneuvers the snow-covered streets of North Bergen, N.J., Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011.

A man runs as heavy snow drops over the Northern New Jersey region during a rare October snowstorm, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011, in Edgewater, N.J.

Stewart Collins walks in a falling snow in New Brunswick, N.J. on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011. A classic nor'easter is causing snow up the East Coast, unseasonal for this time year.

A pedestrian walks in a burst of moderate snow in front of the town hall in Vernon, Conn., during the first snowfall of the season, Oct. 27, 2011.