Storm howls its way into New England

New Englanders hit by a storm packing knee-high snowfall and hurricane-force winds began digging out on Wednesday as some New Yorkers and others spared its full fury questioned whether forecasts were overblown.

The storm was a bitter, paralyzing blast to New England, bringing at least half a meter of snow to most of Massachusetts, potentially making it one of the top snowstorms of all time there. It began on Monday evening and continued most of Tuesday. A blizzard warning for Boston ended on Tuesday evening as the snow tapered off, but one remained in effect for the south coast, Cape Cod and nearby islands.

The area was also dealing with bitter cold: The low in Boston on Wednesday is expected to be - 13 C, and forecasters said it would not get above freezing for the next week or so.