18 killed as heavy snow and hurricane-force winds bring much of East Coast to a standstill

(latimes) The powerful blizzard that slammed the East Coast on Saturday (23) quickly surpassed forecasters’ dire predictions, claiming at least 18 lives, flooding coasts, unleashing hurricane-force winds and paralyzing life for residents of at least 20 states from Georgia to Massachusetts.

The storm was well on its way to smashing snowfall records.

Mayors and governors said they did not expect their cities to be back in business until next week.

“We are going into uncharted territory here,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned as the heart of the storm hit his state. Visibility was so low that those walking across the Brooklyn Bridge couldn't see the East River beneath or the Manhattan skyline soaring above. Since Thursday night, 25 inches had fallen in Central Park, nearing the city’s record of 26.9 inches, which fell over two days in 2006.

Cuomo took the rare step of banning all travel in the nation’s largest city Saturday. Drivers in New York City who failed to stay off the roads risked being ticketed, and even trains and large segments of the subway system, the lifeblood of the city, were shut down. Minutes before imposing the travel ban, Cuomo said, he saw the risk firsthand when he helped a crew rescue a driver whose car had spun out on Long Island's Cross Island Parkway.