HARTFORD, Conn. — The third winter storm in three weeks buried parts of the Northeast in nearly 2 feet of wet, blowing snow Wednesday, smothering highways, halting trains, and causing thousands of homes and businesses to go cold and dark.
The storm, which iced over much of the South before sweeping up the East Coast, wreaked havoc on the morning commute across southern New England.
In Massachusetts, Gov. Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency and mobilized the National Guard. He said the storm brought more snow than officials expected, leaving more than 100,000 people without power or heat by noon.
Maria Rivera, 60, slept overnight in a food court booth at a travel plaza on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Natick. She said the person providing her ride home to Worcester could not make it in the storm, and she had to be back for her Wednesday shift.
In New York, where city leaders took heavy criticism for their slow work after a Dec. 26 blizzard, officials rolled out a massive response that quickly cleared the streets. They also received some help from nature, with only 9 inches of snow falling in Central Park — well short of 20 inches in last month’s storm.
This time, the deepest snow fell farther north. The roof of an apartment building in Norwich partially collapsed under the weight of the snow, forcing 10 people from their homes. State troopers, working double shifts on orders of the governor, responded to about 900 spinouts, fender- benders and stranded vehicles.
By early afternoon, New Fairfield had 28 inches of snow, and Danbury had 24 inches. The 22.5 inches recorded at Bradley International Airport set a one-day record for snowfall in the Hartford area.
Scores of schools, businesses and government offices closed. And more than 1,700 flights were canceled at the New York region’s three airports, which were trying to resume normal operations Wednesday.
Commuter rail service was delayed or suspended across the region, and Amtrak suspended service between New York City and Boston because of damage to the overhead power system south of Boston.
