NEW YORK — A blustery late-season storm plastered the Northeast with sleet and snow Tuesday, paralyzing much of the Washington-to-Boston corridor but falling well short of the predicted snow totals in New York, Boston and Philadelphia.
The powerful nor’easter, which came after a stretch of unusually mild winter weather, unloaded 1 to 2 feet in many places inland, grounded more than 6,000 flights and knocked out power to nearly a quarter-million customers from Virginia northward.
By the time it reached Massachusetts, it had turned into a blizzard, with near hurricane-force wind gusting over 70 mph along the coast and waves crashing over the seawalls. Boston ended up with 6.6 inches of snow, less than the predictions of up to a foot.
While people mostly heeded dire warnings to stay home and off the roads, police said a 16-year-old girl was killed when she lost control of her car on a snowy road and hit a tree in Gilford, New Hampshire.
In East Hartford, Connecticut, an elderly man died after being struck by a plow truck.
The storm closed schools in cities big and small, Amtrak suspended service and the post office halted mail delivery.
Philadelphia and New York City got anywhere from a few inches of snow to around half a foot before the storm switched over mostly to sleet. Inland areas, meanwhile, got hit hard. The Binghamton, New York, area got over 2 feet, while Vernon, New Jersey, had at least 19 inches.
In the nation’s capital, non-essential federal employees were given the option of reporting three hours late, taking the day off or working from home. The city got less than 2 inches of snow.
A few days ago, workers on Washington’s National Mall were making plans to turn on the fountains.
Government meteorologists realized by late Monday afternoon that there was a good chance the storm wasn’t going to produce the giant big-city snow totals predicted. But they didn’t change their forecast for fear people would mistakenly think the storm was no longer dangerous, said Greg Carbin, chief of forecast operations at the Weather Prediction Center.
In Pennsylvania, snowplows and state troopers escorted a 23-month-old child in need of a heart transplant 80 miles between hospitals. Gov. Tom Wolf said the youngster made the trip safely.
In Narragansett, Rhode Island, high winds buckled a state-owned wind turbine. In New York City, two homes under construction collapsed near the waterfront in Far Rockaway. No injuries were reported.
And two ponies broke out of their stables and roamed the snowy streets of Staten Island until an off-duty police officer wrangled them with straps normally used to tow cars and tied them to a lamppost. They were taken back to the stables.
“We want to thank our cowboy officer,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
The storm coincided with New Hampshire’s Town Meeting Day, a Yankee tradition in which voters in more than 100 communities elect local politicians and set budgets.
Some towns postponed because of the snow. But in Hopkinton, a steady stream of voters braved the blustery conditions to make it to the polls.
“You know, they’re hardy New Englanders, and they’re coming to vote,” said Debbie Norris, a candidate for the Hopkinton Budget Committee.
The flight cancellations included nearly 3,300 in the New York City area alone. Hundreds of passengers were stranded at airports.
Laura and Matthew Balderstone of West Yorkshire, England, intended to spend their honeymoon in Florida but found themselves stuck at the Newark, New Jersey, airport and couldn’t find a hotel room.
“It’s better safe than sorry, especially flying. I suppose it’s a shame that we can’t get another way around this,” Matthew Balderstone said. “It’s just the way it is, unfortunately.”