New Englanders dig out, frolic in snow after major overnight storm

As a major weekend winter storm hit the region, New Englanders awoke to mix of snow and freezing rain that fell overnight into Sunday, with areas north and west of Boston receiving the highest snow totals.

Snowflakes or a mix of wintry rain drops continue to fall at a steady clip, with forecasters predicting any rainfall will freeze up and become snow after 1 p.m. when highs drop into the mid-20s.

As the snow and wind pressed on, residents scurried to pull out shovels and snowblowers to clear sidewalks and driveways. Others grabbed sleds and played in the fresh snowfall.

According to meteorologists with the National Weather Service, Boston — which saw only a dusting of snow by dawn — possibly could see between 3-5 inches of snow before the storm ends. Most of the snow will accumulate before 7 p.m.

As of 1 p.m., fewer than 10,000 customers were without power across Massachusetts as electrical crews worked to restore service. Earlier Sunday, roughly 15,000 customers saw outages due to the storm. Many of the power problems were concentrated in Middlesex, Essex and Worcester counties.

Road conditions were mixed throughout Massachusetts early Sunday, according to state Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver. Plows operated overnight to keep highways clear, but Gulliver said some secondary roads remained slippery.

Drivers should use caution, especially with temperatures expected to drop, Gulliver said, adding that crews would again treat roads overnight to address slippery spots.

"This is not like one of those situations where you have a really big temperature drop that follows a rainstorm," Gulliver said. "This is going to be a gradual thing. The good news about that is that allows us to put some treatment down ... ."

Nick Diliddo, of Worcester, told WBUR at a 24-hour gas station that he began plowing his city's streets before dawn.

"I'll go in and get a coffee, get some caffeine in me and fill the tank before everybody else gets to it as the early morning comes," he said.

By mid-morning Sunday, the Worcester airport had recorded more than 9 inches of snowfall.

Winter storm warnings and watches were in effect throughout the Northeast, and icy roads made for hazardous travel as far south as North Carolina.

The National Weather Service earlier predicted the "major winter storm” would potentially bring up to a foot of snow in parts of New England and pockets of rain/freezing rain in the central Appalachians.

In Massachusetts and portions of Rhode Island, the National Weather Service had declared a winter storm warning from 4 p.m. Saturday through 1 a.m. Monday, with snow accumulations of 6 inches up to a foot and winds gusting as high as 35 mph.

The weather service predicted similar levels of snow in portions of Maine and New Hampshire, with slightly less — 3 to 6 inches — in areas of Vermont.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said the city was preparing for the storm but wasn’t expecting it to be a major event, and the timing of the snow meant it would likely have less of an impact on city life. Storm surges were also not expected.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont says it’s been about two years since a major storm hit the state.

“I think this storm’s been a long time coming,” Lamont said.

Forecasters also warned of another Northeast storm Tuesday into Wednesday that is expected to bring rain and some flooding as well as high winds and coastal flooding.

The wintry weather battered both U.S. coasts over the weekend. On Saturday, a Sierra Nevada storm packing heavy snow shut down a stretch of interstate and briefly knocked out power to tens of thousands in Reno, Nevada.

In the West, a winter storm warning went into effect through Saturday night in the Sierra Nevada from south of Yosemite National Park to north of Reno, where the weather service said as much as 20 inches of snow could fall in the mountains around Lake Tahoe with winds gusting up to 100 mph over ridgetops.

The California Highway Patrol said numerous spinouts and collisions forced the temporary closure of I-80 for several hours from west of Truckee, California, to the state line west of Reno, where more than 27,000 homes briefly lost power in high winds at midday.

The weather service said that system would continue to bring heavy mountain snow and coastal rain overnight before moving into central and Southern California, then off to the Southwest and the southern Rockies.

With additional reporting from The Associated Press, WBUR's Newscast Unit, Solon Kelleher and Lisa Creamer.