A powerful winter storm blamed for 15 deaths in other parts of the US is bringing rain to southern New England and snow further north, but the region has been largely spared the pounding other states took.

The storm pushed through the Upper Ohio Valley and made its way into the north-east, leaving up to 1ft of snow in some locations. Thousands of travellers were trying to make it home after the storm stranded them at airports.

Some inbound flights were delayed in Philadelphia and New York's LaGuardia. On New York's Long Island, a Southwest Airlines jet bound for Tampa, Florida, veered off a taxiway and became stuck in mud.

People were killed in accidents in Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Virginia.