Watch CBS News

Husband, wife killed by falling tree as April snowstorms lash Northeast

The early spring storms are blamed for at least two deaths outside Boston
Wintry weather slams millions across New England 02:22

Winter is making a last stand in parts of the Northeast. The string of early spring late storms is being blamed for at least two deaths outside Boston.

Freezing, 40-mile-per-hour wind gusts were no help to first responders in central New York Sunday. It's believed whiteout conditions caused a dozen vehicles to pile up on Interstate 88. No one was injured.

Crews worked to clean up trees and poles knocked over by the snow and high winds in Massachusetts, as many as eight inches of heavy, wet snow fell over the weekend. Downed power lines caused nearly 40,000 outages across the state.

A husband and wife died in a Boston suburb after a tree crashed on their car. Brian Easton was out shoveling snow and saw it happen.

"And I just looked out and it was just a terrible time," Easton said. "The car came along and just perfectly, the tree fell over in the roof. It took about eight feet for it to stop. The tree just bounced right off it."

Wind gusts topping 60 miles per hour blew off rooftops in New Jersey and collapsed abandoned buildings in Maryland.

April begins with snow in parts of the U.S. 01:56

"I just heard this loud sound like 'pow!' pow!' I mean like it was serious," said a witness, James Miller.

With winter weather advisories and freeze warnings issued from New Hampshire all the way to Tennessee, people like Kathy O'Neill of Brookline, Massachusetts are ready for spring's arrival.

"I don't want any more of this. That's where I'm at right now," O"Neill said.

But up to half a foot of snow could pile up in parts of Massachusetts by the end of Monday.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.