Sean McCullough, left, plays with his children in Copley Square in Boston on Sunday, February 10, following a powerful blizzard. The storm dumped more than two feet of snow in parts of New England.
Are you in the blizzard's path? Send your time-lapse videos and photographs to CNN iReport, but stay safe.
New York (CNN) -- The worst of the storm has passed, but the recovery effort is just beginning.
A mammoth blizzard that dumped as much as 3 feet of snow in parts of the Northeast headed out to sea Saturday, as workers across New York and New England struggled to get airports, trains and highways back online.
The snowstorm, a product of two converging weather systems, is being blamed for at least nine deaths in three states and Canada.
It forced the cancellation of more than 5,000 flights, and knocked out power to more than 635,000 customers.
That figure had fallen to around 459,000 Saturday night.
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"We had a bad storm here with heavy, heavy snow -- starting with a wet snow early, which stuck to the trees, which brought them down on the power lines, and then the temperatures dropping and then high, high winds all combining to a lot of power outages. We have our challenges here," Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee told CNN.
Forecasters say the storm was still swirling across eastern New England with gusts up to 40 mph in cities that include Providence, Rhode Island, and Boston. But as most of the heavy snow tapered off, a travel ban across Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts was lifted at 4 p.m.
Blizzard warnings were lifted, along with coastal flood warnings for New England.
Mandatory evacuations were issued earlier Saturday for Massachusetts coastal regions near the town of Hull because of flooding concerns, and high winds whipped throughout the area. Authorities advised residents to leave shoreline areas in Marshfield and Scituate.
While the blizzard did not fulfill record-breaking predictions, travel remained slowgoing.
Hundreds of cars were stranded on the Long Island Expressway in New York after motorists got stuck driving in the snow. They outnumbered the tow trucks and crews deployed to the area for the storm, according to Suffolk County police.
The blizzard prompted the U.S. Postal Service to suspend deliveries in seven states.
Postal worker Karlene Calliste left her job around 3 p.m. Friday, got caught in the storm and ended up sleeping at a firehouse in Middle Island, New York, where dozens of other stranded residents were holed up.
"It's crazy. They weren't prepared," she said, adding that a lack of snow plows contributed to the scores of cars and trucks left stuck in the snow.
Three of New York's busiest airports resumed limited service Saturday morning.
At least one runway at Logan International Airport in Boston was to reopen late Saturday, with flights expected Sunday. Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, was expected to reopen Sunday morning.
Roads turn deadly
At least nine people were killed in accidents related to the storm -- five in Connecticut, according to the governor, two in Canada, one in New York and one in Massachusetts -- a 14-year-old Boston boy who was helping his father shovel snow.
The boy hopped in the snowed-in family car to warm up. The engine was running and the exhaust pipe was blocked by snow, causing carbon monoxide to back up in the car. Firefighters were unable to resuscitate the boy.
Boston police said they were investigating whether a man in his early 20s found dead a vehicle succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning.
The department put out a public safety advisory and cited calls related to individuals being overcome while trying to stay warm in vehicles in which exhaust pipes were blocked by snow.
In Poughkeepsie, New York, an 18-year-old woman lost control of her car in the falling snow and struck a 74-year-old man walking near the side of the road, police said. He later died from his injuries.
Other accidents occurred in Connecticut and southern Ontario.
Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island ahead of the storm ordered all non-emergency vehicles off the streets under threat of imprisonment and fines -- up to a year in jail and $500 in Rhode Island.
Rail transportation came to a virtual halt, with commuter trains running on a patchwork schedule.
Snow piles up; power goes out
Connecticut saw the most accumulation, with 40 inches in Hamden. At its height, the storm heaped snow on the state at a frenzied rate of 4 to 5 inches an hour.
iReporter Scott Green posted a photo of his deck in Cromwell -- covered waist-high with snow.
In Massachusetts, Worcester and Boston received 27 and 21 inches, respectively, with winds howling up to a hurricane-strength 75 mph.
Snowfall in Manhattan reached just under a foot, with heavier accumulations in Long Island, where 27 inches fell in Stony Brook.
"This state had consequences, but nothing like our neighboring states," said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. He announced Saturday plans to send utility workers and snow plows to New England to help with recovery.
Snowfall blanketed an area from eastern Pennsylvania to Maine, with overnight lows under 20 degrees as governors in six states declared states of emergency.
The states hardest hit in terms of power outages were Massachusetts and Rhode Island. By Saturday evening, close to 308,000 customers were without power in Massachusetts, while more than 115,000 customers remained without electricity in Rhode Island.
Electricity dropped out at a nuclear power plant in Plymouth, Massachusetts, said fire spokesman Ed Bradley, but backup generators sprang into action.
Stay charged when the power goes out
Stranded at the Walmart
More than two dozen people were forced to spend the night at a Walmart in Long Island.
"The roads were just completely impassable," said Jean Miller, who spent at least seven hours on the road before throwing in the towel.
"We were just happy to be indoors and not out there," she said. Miller, whose home is just two miles from the store, says she plans to stay so long as road conditions are dangerous and Walmart allows it.
"They equaled the Red Cross," she said of the big-box retailer.
Hoops snowed out
The nor'easter has swatted down travel arrangements for pro basketball teams headed to New York City, leaving the New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs and Brooklyn Nets grounded.
The Knicks are stuck in Minneapolis, where they played the Timberwolves on Friday, a spokesman said. They have a home game at Madison Square Garden on Sunday against the L.A. Clippers.
Canceled flights forced the Nets to attempt to get home by train from Washington after a game there against the Wizards.
The San Antonio Spurs, who were originally flying to New York to play the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night, are stuck in Detroit.
CNN's Jill Martin, AnneClaire Stapleton, Pauline Kim, Erinn Cawthon, Jake Carpenter, Phil Gast, Ben Brumfield, Chris Boyette and Marina Carver contributed to this report. David Ariosto and Mary Snow reported from New York and Dana Ford reported and wrote from Atlanta.
© 2013 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
A man walks by a storefront behind large snowdrifts on Boylston Street in Boston on February 10.
A woman walks past a man clearing snow from a sidewalk on February 10 in Boston.
A man walks past snow banks in the Back Bay neighborhood on February 10 in Boston.
Snowmen made from backstage lamps, paper rolls and water bottle caps stand outside the rest area during Fashion Week in New York on February 10.
Snow blankets Copley Square on Saturday, February 9, in Boston.
People walk and sled through a snowy Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York, on Saturday.
People attempt to push a stuck vehicle in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston on Saturday.
A boy pulls a sled through a snowy Prospect Park in Brooklyn on Saturday.
A boy snowboards in Boston Common on Saturday.
People play in the snow in New York's Central Park on Saturday.
A young woman jumps down from snow piled in front of the Massachusetts State House after posing for a photo in Boston on Saturday.
A man walks along a snow-covered trail in Central Park on Saturday.
A child tubes down snow-covered stairs in Central Park on Saturday.
Emmet's on Beacon Street is covered in snow in Boston on Saturday.
A front loader and truck drive down Warren Street in the Brighton neighborhood on Saturday in Boston.
People walk along the Brooklyn Bridge following a major winter storm on Saturday in New York City. Possible record-setting blizzard conditions are expected with heavy snow warnings in effect from New Jersey through southern Maine.
The sculpture "Double Check" by John Seward Johnson II is seen in Zuccotti Park following a major winter storm on Saturday in New York City on Saturday.
People walk along a street devoid of snow due to ocean flooding Saturday in Winthrop, Massachusetts. Coastal flooding is expected as the storm lingers into the day.
A person walks through the snow in an alley in Hoboken, New Jersey, on Saturday.
Children carry a sled through the Financial District in New York City on Saturday.
Saniyyah Phillips, 8, scrapes the snow off of the top of her father's car in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston on Friday.
Snow covers a sidewalk and building awning in Boston on Saturday.
Josephine Sipayung and her son Eric, 6, sled down an empty street past snow-covered vehicles in Boston on Saturday.
Snow-covered vehicles sit on Commonwealth Avenue in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston on Saturday.
A worker carries a snow shovel across the Ground Zero construction sight on Saturday in New York.
A woman walks through the snow as a worker clears snow from a sidewalk in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston.
Snow gathers on shoes hung from power lines in the Lower East Side of New York City.
Mary Leahy shovels her sidewalk in Medford, Massachusetts.
Paul DeCarlo uses a snow blower to clear the walk in front of his house in Greenfield, Massachusetts.
A man walks through snowy Central Park in New York.
Mike Streeter shovels snow in his front yard as ocean water crashes over the sea wall just feet away on February 9 in Winthrop, Massachusetts.
A pair of cows feed in the snow at Eden Pond Farm in Leyden, Massachusetts.
A child drags his toboggan up a hill in Central Park.
A woman walks in Boston on Saturday.
Phoebe Lightburn, 9, makes a snow angel in Central Park in New York.
A man shovels snow along Winthrop Shore Drive in Winthrop, Massachusetts.
A cyclist rides through the snow in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston.
Snow blankets Boston on February 9.
Pedestrians shield themselves from blowing snow as a blizzard arrives in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston on Friday, February 8.
Two women look for a taxi in snow-covered Times Square on February 8.
A food vendor stands under his cart as snow falls in Times Square.
A man shovels snow in front of the Apple store in New York on February 8.
People wait for a taxi in the snow in Times Square.
A pedestrian makes his way through driving snow with a broken umbrella in the Back Bay neighborhood on Friday, February 8 in Boston.
A fashion week attendee makes her way through the snow in high-heeled shoes on Friday.
Snow is cleared in front of Boston Public Library on Friday.
New York City residents cross a street covered in slush on Friday during a storm affecting the Northeast on Friday.
A woman walks through the snow past Copley Square on Friday in Boston. Massachusetts and other states from New York to Maine are preparing for a major blizzard with possible record amounts of snowfall in some areas.
A snowplow sits on the street while snow falls near Boston Common on Friday.
People walk through Times Square as a major winter storm moves in on Friday.
A snowman sits on the duck pond in the Boston Common.
A woman hails a taxi as snow and freezing rain fall over Midtown Manhattan as the city braced for the major storm on Friday.
A man operates a snow blower in the Back Bay neighborhood on Friday in Boston.
Memorial Drive sits empty following a driving ban and state of emergency that was issued in Boston on Friday.
Pedestrians battle wind, snow and sleet in Manhattan on Friday.
People walk through the snow in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood on Friday.
Bicyclists wait at a light in wind, snow and sleet on Friday.
This umbrella doesn't stand a chance in the wind-driven snow Friday in Boston as a potentially 
Jeannine Strampel walks through the snow past a statue of Alexander Hamilton along Commonwealth Avenue Mall on February 8.
Jerry Trebino loads sand onto the back of a snowplow February 8 in Wrentham, Massachusetts. The storm is expected to spawn travel headaches for a large swath of the region.
A woman battles her way to the subway in Boston on February 8.
Skiing seems like a good idea as snow begins to fall in Boston on February 8.
A woman struggles with her umbrella in New York's Financial District on February 8. Accumulations of up to a foot of snow are expected in the Big Apple.
Ines Cuadrado, left, and Anne Levine trek along a snow-covered road in Middlefield, Connecticut, on February 8.
Alfie Times shovels snow from the sidewalk outside the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, on February 8.
Ricky Varona copes with the wind and precipitation February 8 in New York.
Tourists brave the high winds in New York's Financial District on February 8.
A sweeper clears snow in front of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week tents on February 8 at Lincoln Center in New York.
A man walks along the promenade in Brooklyn Heights as Lower Manhattan stands in a cloud of snow and sleet in the early hours of a major winter storm on February 8.
A man walks across the Brooklyn Bridge in the snow and sleet on February 8.
Cars are lined up outside a gas station in Queens borough of New York on February 8.
A sign bears bad news on a fuel pump in Manhasset, New York, on February 8.
A woman tries to shield herself from wind and precipitation as the beginnings of a large winter storm hits the New York area on February 8.
Snow falls over Lower Manhattan in the early hours of a major winter storm on February 8.
A woman tries to right her umbrella while dealing with wind and precipitation in New York on February 8.
Two people carefully walk across the Brooklyn Bridge in the snow and sleet on February 8.
A satellite image released by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration on February 8, shows a large storm over the Northeastern United States.
People walk through the blowing snow while a blizzard arrives in the Back Bay neighborhood on February 8 in Boston.
A man operates a snowblower while a blizzard arrives in the Back Bay neighborhood in Boston on February 8.
A sign warns drivers along Interstate 495 of a blizzard watch in Franklin, Massachusetts, on Thursday, February 7.
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