More than 120,000 homes and businesses lost power in the state of Massachusetts, with failures mounting. Millions of people were affected by what meteorologists called a “bomb cyclone”, Aljazeera reported.

The storm thrashed parts of 10 states with blizzard warnings that stretched from Virginia to Maine. The cities of Philadelphia and New York saw plenty of wind and snow, but Boston was in the crosshairs as it tied its record for biggest single-day snowfall, with 60cm (23.6 inches), the National Weather Service said.

Winds gusted as high as 134km/h (83 mph) on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Southwest of Boston, the town of Sharon, Massachusetts, received more than 76cm (30 inches) of snow.

More than 4,500 flights were cancelled across the eastern US.

Officials in New York described conditions as "life-threatening", five states declared an emergency and Rhode Island banned all non-emergency road travel as snow and high winds blasted the region.

Dangerous wind chills were expected to bring sub-zero temperatures across the region on Sunday after the powerful storm dumped snow from Virginia to Maine, covering the town of Sharon with 30 inches (76 centimetres) of snow.

Coastal towns were left flooded, with wind and waves battering North Weymouth, south of Boston, inundating streets with a slurry of frigid water. Videos shared online showed a street underwater on Nantucket and waves crashing against the windows of a building in Plymouth.

Climate change, particularly a warmer ocean, likely impacted the strength of the storm, scientists have said.

Much warmer ocean waters "are certainly playing a role in the strengthening of the storm system and increased moisture available for the storm," said Oklahoma University meteorology professor Jason Furtado. "But it isn't the only thing," Sky reported.

Two saving graces made the storm less lethal: its dry snow was less capable of snapping trees or tearing down power lines, and the fact it hit on a weekend, with closed schools and fewer commuters.

At various points parts of 10 states were under blizzard warnings, with a blizzard defined as a storm bringing snow and winds of at least 35 mph (56 kph) that reduce visibility to a quarter-mile or less for at least three hours.

The worst of the "nor'easter" - so called because the winds over the coastal area are typically from the northeast - was expected by Sunday morning to blow into Canada, where several provinces were under warnings.