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.
Boston (CNN) -- A monster blizzard has left at least one person dead and hundreds of thousands of New Englanders in the dark and in the cold Friday night, thanks to a storm that's already delivered whipping winds and more than a foot of snow in some parts, with prospects of even double that by the time it's done.
The storm -- actually the convergence of two powerful systems -- began in earnest Friday morning in parts of New York and is expected to continue well into Saturday in Rhode Island, eastern Massachusetts and Maine.
Snow was more or less continuous for much of the region all day, with some lulls as well as times when it picked up considerably. At one point Friday night, for instance, Connecticut's emergency management agency warned on Twitter that "a wide ban of extremely heavy snow" was moving through the central and eastern parts of the Nutmeg State, dropping snow at a staggering rate of 4 to 5 inches an hour.
Smithfield, Rhode Island, had 14 inches of snow by 9 p.m. Friday, one of several towns in that state, Connecticut and Massachusetts to be buried under more than a foot of snow -- with much more, potentially, on the way.
"I couldn't believe the amount of snow that had piled up, as well as the many fallen branches," said CNN iReporter Molly Schulson in Providence, Rhode Island.
She was among the tens of millions of people stranded in the blizzard's path.
Many were prohibited by authorities from driving as a preemptive measure while other roads were closed in the thick of the bad weather, as was the case late Friday for New York's Long Island Expressway and Sunrise Highway, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.
Others saw their travel plans squashed when more than 5,000 flights from some 60 airports were canceled. And Amtrak nixed several of its scheduled runs, citing the weather, while commuter rail service in and out of New York and other locales were also impacted.
Track the storm on map, timeline
That helped transform several New England communities into ghost towns, as streets that typically would be choked with traffic were quiet, except for whistling winds; and empty, except for a blanket of thick, sticky snow.
CNN iReporters sent in photos and video from Boston, for instance, that showed sheets of white on the ground -- except when whipping winds made for near whiteout conditions on camera -- and little movement on the streets.
"Boston is kind of eerie at the moment," said Chris Moran, a veteran snowplow driver doing his best to keep the roads clear. "People are off the streets, and it looks like it could be 3 o'clock in the morning."
Northeast braces for 'historic' blizzard
Massachusetts braces for winter storm
Monster storm creates air travel havoc
Blizzard could wallop East Coast
New York, Boston brace for blizzard
Strong winds made this storm especially biting. By Friday night, the National Weather Service reported wind gusts around 70 mph along the Massachusetts coast and through greater Boston, including a 74-mph gust in Buzzards Bay on Cape Cod.
"The wind is just pounding," CNN iReporter Jordana Fleischut said from Nantucket, off Massachusetts' southern coast. "It's currently moving the Jeep that we're in -- that's how powerful it is."
Such strong winds threatened to rustle up flooding along the coast at high tide Saturday morning. In the seaside Massachusetts town of Marshfield, for instance, the emergency management agency noted there may be a storm surge of between two to three feet and forecast a "serious event with moderate to major impact" around 10 a.m. Saturday.
Police in Poughkeepsie, New York, said one person died in a storm-related vehicle accident there, the first fatality that CNN has confirmed from the blizzard.
The storm also damage for those not living directly on the coast, as evidenced by extensive power outages around the region.
For many more people, the storm's impact will be in the form of widespread power outages. By early Saturday, more than 600,000 customers -- most in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut -- were without electricity, a number that could grow.
For some, it all evoked memories of the "Blizzard of '78" and the "Presidents Day Storm of 2003" -- two of dozens of winter storms in Massachusetts that Moran has been out on the streets.
The Framingham resident bundled up to brave the bitter cold and clear snow off the roads. But with a storm this powerful, it sometimes seems like a losing battle.
"I just finished plowing a 40-car parking lot," said Moran. "But if you were to look at it now, you never would have guessed. It's completely covered."
Alarms raised, events canceled ahead of the storm
Authorities have been sounding the alarm about the coming storm for days, urging people to stock up and stay off the roads. The worries were especially pronounced in places slammed by Sandy.
That late October storm tore through Nick Camerada's Staten Island home, leaving him personally "destroyed" and cognizant that there may be more hits coming.
"You can't mess with Mother Nature," an emotional Camerada said.
Lines of customers snaked around storefronts as many braced for the worst.
When Reading, Massachusetts, resident Elizabeth Frazier arrived at a grocery store late Thursday night, shoppers were already buying up the store.
"It's a zoo in there," she said. "There's nothing left on the shelves," she told CNN affiliate WHDH.
Governors across New England and New York have declared states of emergency, and all cars and trucks -- except emergency vehicles -- must now be off Massachusetts and Connecticut roadways. A similar ban in Rhode Island took effect at 5 p.m.
Violating that ban could incur a penalty of up to a year in jail and a $500 fine.
By Friday night, the storm had already led to hundreds of cancellations of public school classes to sporting events. The storm even prompted the cancellation of ACT tests, for would-be college students, around the Northeast.
Utility companies tried to get a head start on the storm, by having additional crews ready to respond to outages caused by downed power lines.
The fear is that, as happened after Sandy, such outages could persist for days. Still, for all the alarms being raised, the mayor of Boston -- which forecasters expected would be the city hardest hit by the storm -- said he expected residents of his community and others to hunker down and weather the storm.
Said Mayor Thomas Menino, "We are hardy New Englanders."
5 ways to keep your phone charged in a power outage
CNN's David Ariosto, Greg Botelho, Chris Boyette, Elizabeth Cherneff, Mary Snow, Larry Shaughnessy and Marina Carver contributed to this report.
© 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.
|