(CNN) Strong winds and heavy wet snow from the season's first nor'easter rolled through the northeast, dumping more than a foot of snow in some areas and knocking out power for about 180,000 in New England.
"A lot of the storms' precipitation initially fell as heavy rain but it quickly changed to snow once the cold air ushered in behind it. Strong winds accompanied the heavy, wet snow that fell," CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam said. "Not an ideal situation considering the treacherous conditions that have been left in the storms' wake."
The most severe effects of the storm were felt in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Shapleigh, Maine, and Derry, New Hampshire, saw around 8 inches of snow while Paxton, Massachusetts, received 12.5 inches.
Across the three states, there were about 180,000 customers without power on Sunday afternoon, including about 147,000 outages in Maine, according to poweroutage.us, a website that tracks electricity use nationwide.
"This nor'easter was a significant snow, wind and rain event but could have been debilitating if temperatures were just a few degrees cooler at the start of the storm," Van Dam said.
Precipitation around Boston was winding down as the season's first nor'easter turned towards Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Van Dam said, bringing rain and winds with gusts up to 50 mph.
The region is now navigating "treacherous roads and widespread power outages," the National Weather Service in Portland/Gray Maine said on Twitter Saturday night.
The weather service warned against traveling by the late afternoon Saturday as blowing snow and gusty winds could reduce visibility greatly.
The service reiterated the point later in the day, warning New England residents not to crowd snow plows moving through the area "or better yet, stay home altogether."
Power lines can also pose a danger, the weather service tweeted.
"Very Important Reminder from @versantpower this morning. 'Never touch a downed power line or a tree in contact with a downed line. Motorists are urged to slow down or move over and change lanes, when possible, if approaching utility crews working on roadways," the tweet said.
Crews will be working to address the damage from the storm, beginning with downed electrical lines and then restoration efforts, Versant Power tweeted.