PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Emergency crews and residents struggled to clear roadways and sidewalks from a storm that rampaged through the Northeast, dumping up to 3 feet of snow and bringing howling winds that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands.

Municipal workers from New York to Boston labored through the night into Sunday in snow-bound communities, where some motorists had to be rescued after spending hours stuck in wet, heavy snow. President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency for Connecticut, allowing federal aid to be used in recovery, and utilities in some hard-hit New England states predicted that the storm could leave some customers in the dark for days.

"We've never seen anything like this," said county official Steven Bellone of New York's Long Island, which got more than 2½ feet of snow.