US East Coast paralyzed after massive storm

NEW YORK - A massive winter storm paralyzed much of the US East Coast on Thursday and Friday, dumping as much as 46 centimeters of snow from the Carolinas to Maine. It also caused flooding on the streets of Boston due to swelling storm tides, forced the cancellation of nearly 5,000 flights and closed businesses, offices and schools.

Forecasters expected the storm - which some meteorologists classified as a "bomb cyclone" for its sharp drop in atmospheric pressure - would be followed immediately by a blast of cold air that could break records in more than two dozen cities and bring wind chills as low as -40 C during the weekend.

From Baltimore, Maryland, to Caribou in Maine, efforts were underway to clear roadways of ice and snow as wind chill temperatures were to plunge during the day, reaching -40 C in some parts after sundown, according to the National Weather Service.