US blizzard leaves second highest snow accumulation rate since 1869

US New York City and Long Island were resuming normal transportation operations Sunday morning after a travel ban that lasted from 2:30 pm Saturday to 7 am. Sunday was lifted, The New York Times reported Sunday.

The storm brought New York City's second highest snowfall since record-keeping began in 1869, with 26.8 inches, and many other parts of New York and Long Island saw up to 2 feet of snow.

At Kennedy International Airport in Queens, 30.5 inches was reported. Crews worked overnight to clear runways though with thousands of flights canceled regionally, service had not yet been restored.

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Saturday "the vast majority" of flights would be canceled on Sunday.

The city's snowfall was still less than that of parts of Maryland and West Virginia, where in some parts 40 inches had fallen. The storm which caused more than 10 states on the Eastern Seaboard to declare states of emergency, killed 18 on Saturday. Several of the people, including a 94-year-old man in Smithtown on Long Island, appeared to have died while clearing snow, according to news reports.

At 7 am on Sunday a travel ban imposed by New York State and city officials on Saturday afternoon was lifted.

Tunnels and bridges into the city, all of which had been closed during the storm, reopened as well, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.