© Reuters/Adam HungerA view of a pumpkin patch covered in snow is seen in Portsmouth, New Hampshire October 30, 2011.
The record-breaking snow was heaviest in the western Massachusetts town of Plainfield, where 27.8 inches fell according to the National Weather Service. Northwest of New York City, in West Milford, New Jersey, 19 inches of snow fell.
"It's too scary -- the windows are rattling too loud," a terrified Sophia Band, 6, said, her father recalled, during the crushing storm in Conway, Massachusetts overnight.
The snowy, windy weather that began Saturday was expected to exit Maine later Sunday, but not before dumping up to a foot of snow on northern New England, particularly southern Vermont, the National Weather Service said.
Howling winds and heavy, wet snow snapped enormous trees like twigs, downing power lines from West Virginia to Massachusetts.
By midday Sunday, there were close to 3.2 million households without electricity across the Mid-Atlantic and New England, according to Weather.com.
Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy said the state experienced the largest number of power outages in its history. Maine, Massachusetts and New Jersey all said they did not expect service to return to normal for several days, while in Connecticut it could be more than a week.
Stranded for 13 Hours on Train
Transit nightmares were reported on planes and trains throughout the storm-struck region.
Some 48 passengers on an Amtrak train bound for Boston were stranded for 13 hours overnight when a rockslide blocked the tracks in central Massachusetts, Amtrak said. They were bussed to their destinations before noon Sunday.
Other Amtrak service was suspended between Providence, Rhode Island and Boston; New Haven, Connecticut and Springfield, Massachusetts; and Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
New Jersey Transit and Metro-North Railroad suspended service on several lines into New York City Sunday.
Airports slowly returned to normal service Sunday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
JetBlue Airways was investigating reports 126 passengers were stuck for more than seven hours Saturday on the tarmac at Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Connecticut, without food, water or working lavatories. They were aboard Flight 504 from Florida, diverted to Bradley from Newark due to the storm.
© Reuters/Lucas JacksonA woman tries to jump over a puddle during an early snow storm in New York October 29, 2011.
Icy roads throughout the Northeast proved deadly, and three people were killed in car accidents.
Two other deaths were blamed on the storm. In Temple, Pennsylvania, an 84-year-old man was killed as he napped in his recliner when a snow-laden tree fell through his home, said a Muhlenberg Township Police Department dispatcher.
In Springfield, Massachusetts, a 20-year-old man was electrocuted when he stepped out of his vehicle and touched an electrified guard rail, a Springfield police spokesman said.
Weather emergencies because of the storm were declared in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
Tell your children that they might also tell thier children of the good times, that they may someday return.