Winter storm slams Northeast

Forecasters say the worst may be over

A truck clears snow Saturday morning, after a winter storm dropped several inches of snow on Albany, New York.

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VIDEO Residents of Albany, New York got a huge helping of snow on Friday, with second servings on Saturday. (January 4) PLAY VIDEO RELATED Gallery: Northeast Snowstorm  Jason Carroll: Fresh powder for ski buffs  • Intellicast  • University of Michigan  • National Weather Service

CAMP SPRINGS, Maryland (CNN) -- Parts of the Northeast were buried in snow Saturday, but forecasters gave residents hope that the worst was over.

The Hydrometeorological Prediction Center said a lingering band of snow across the northeastern United States would dissipate and leave only flurries by Sunday morning.

That was cold comfort, though, to people in Bridgewater, New York, who got 32 inches of snow, residents of Laurens, New York, who saw 27 inches of the white stuff and people in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts and several other states in the region who got more than a foot of snow.

The storm was expected to be over southern Nova Scotia by evening.

"It's still snowing, but not snowing nearly as heavily in New York state as it was yesterday," said meteorologist Bruce Terry from Camp Springs, Maryland.

Wind gusts in New York were above 20 mph.

Gale and storm warnings had been posted for coastal sections of central and northern New England, and waves measuring more than 12-feet high crashed into a seawall in Swampscott, Massachusetts, breaking down part of it and causing coastal flooding.

The nor'easter developed Friday off the mid-Atlantic coast and moved up the East Coast, where it snarled traffic and closed schools, allowing children to begin their weekend early.

As much as 2 to 5 inches of snow per hour fell Saturday between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. ET at Burlington, Vermont, Terry said.

Meanwhile, there was record heat Friday in parts of the West. Chula Vista, California, reported 85 degrees Fahrenheit; Sedona, Arizona, saw a high of 70; Phoenix, 75; and Bozeman, Montana, 48.

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