Slow Northeast cleanup leaves 1.2 million, still, without power

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More than 1 million customers across the Northeast are still without electricity amid an unexpectedly slow cleanup from a freak pre-winter snowstorm.

According to the latest estimates from the Department of Energy, 1.2 million customers remained without power in six states as of 8 a.m. EDT on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the number stood at about 1.9 million.

Once again, Connecticut seemed to have the greatest difficulty in bringing customers back online. According to a Department of Energy spokeswoman, about 546,500 customers remained without power after the weekend storm.

The storm dropped heavy wet flakes onto leave-laden trees; the limbs bearing those leaves fell, dislodging power lines. The cleanup has been hindered by the debris.

In nearby Massachusetts, 218,253 customer were without power, the spokeswoman said in a telephone interview. New Hampshire, another New England state, had about 87,000 customers without electricity.

New Jersey ranked in third place with almost 211,000 customers still suffering, while New York had about 84,000. Pennsylvania had nearly 60,000 customers waiting for power to return.

The snowstorm, unusually early for most of the areas, dropped up to 32 inches in some parts of New England; more southerly areas received considerably less.

Authorities have blamed the storms for about 25 deaths, including one in Canada.

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-- Michael Muskal