Nor’easter lashes eastern US with snow and wind gusts near hurricane force

• Philadelphia, New York and Boston in path of storm
• Flooding, high winds and cold weather expected

A nor'easter with hurricane-force wind gusts battered much of the US east coast on Saturday, flinging heavy snow that made travel treacherous or impossible, flooding coastlines and threatening to leave bitter cold in its wake.

The storm thrashed parts of 10 states, with blizzard warnings from Virginia to Maine. Philadelphia and New York saw plenty of wind and snow, but Boston was in the crosshairs. The city could get more than 2ft of snow by early Sunday.