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Deadly ‘bomb cyclone’ out to sea after pounding East Coast

Posted at 11:25 AM, Mar 03, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-03 11:31:09-05

SCITUATE, Mass. (CNN) — A deadly storm that hammered the Northeast with relentless rain, snow and powerful winds moved out to sea Saturday — but its effects will linger for days.

The “bomb cyclone” nor’easter killed at least five people, caused massive flooding and knocked out power for more than 1 million customers from the mid-Atlantic to New England.

Those affected by power outages will not get relief immediately.

“People in these homes need to plan for a prolonged outage,” Kurt Schwartz, director of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, said Saturday. “This is a multi-day restoration event.”

Emergency officials urged residents to stay indoors, even after the storm pushed out.

“This is not a time to be out sightseeing and gawking, so please stay at home and stay out of our way,” James Boudreau, the town administrator for Scituate, Massachusetts, said Saturday.

Some 19 million people were still under a coastal flooding warning Saturday.

The storm morphed Friday into a “bomb cyclone” after undergoing a rapid pressure drop known as bombogenesis. It slammed much of the Northeast with heavy snow and rain, prompting significant coastal flooding and hurricane-force gusts in New England.

Winds along parts of the Massachusetts coast that whipped in excess of 90 miles per hour are due to ease Saturday, CNN forecasters said.

The storm also dumped heavy snow from Ohio to New England and into upstate New York, where more than 3 feet were recorded.