Winter Storm Quinn Hammers the Northeast With 3 Feet of Snow in Some Places (RECAP)

Winter Storm Quinn brought up to 3 feet of heavy, wet snow and wind gusts over 50 mph to residents in the Northeast, causing more than 1 million power outages.

(MORE: Winter Storm Central | How Winter Storms are Named)

Winter Storm Quinn developed in late February near the U.S. West Coast as a rather sluggish trough of low pressure that slouched into the Southwest. Quinn brought more than six feet of snow to the Sierra during its multi-day voyage through the Rockies before bringing near-blizzard conditions to parts of the northern Plains. 

To read more about the early days of Winter Storm Quinn, including its trek through the West and Midwest, see the first part of our Winter Storm Quinn recap here. 

Widespread thundersnow was reported in the New York City area, parts of New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania and southern New England Wednesday afternoon and early-evening, along with snowfall rates up to 3 inches per hour.

(Northeast News: At Least 2 Dead; Nearly a Million Without Power)

The thundersnow led to a teacher being struck by lightning while on bus duty Wednesday afternoon in Ocean County, New Jersey, NBC10 Philadelphia reported. She was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

The combination of heavy, wet snow and strong winds has brought down many large trees in the Northeast. A truck was hit by a falling tree on a Greenwich, Connecticut, highway early Wednesday evening. The driver reportedly escaped without injury.

Additionally, one person was killed in Suffern, New York, after a tree collapsed on top of them, News 12 Westchester reported. Officials have not yet released their identity.

As of late Wednesday evening, the top snow total was 26.8 inches in Montville, New Jersey.

In Philadelphia's northwest suburbs, Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, reported 4.5 inches of snowfall in only 90 minutes Wednesday afternoon. On Long Island, Islip, New York, received snowfall rates up to 2 inches per hour early Wednesday evening.

Overall, the heaviest snow fell from northern New Jersey to parts of central Maine through Thursday. 

Below are the top snowfall totals by state:

• Connecticut: 28 inches in Warren; 26.8 inches in New Fairfield; 16.2 inches in Danbury; 8.7 inches in Hartford
• Delaware: 2.1 inches in Newark
• Maine: 21.5 inches in Hartford; 19 inches in Sanford and Farmington; 15.7 inches in Portland; 13.5 inches in Brunswick
• Maryland: 4.5 inches near Churchville and Bel Air
• Massachusetts: 32 inches in Clarksburg; 30 inches in North Adams;13.5 inches in Pittsfield; 16.2 inches in Worcester; 5.9 inches in Boston
• New Hampshire: 20 inches in Sunapee; 18 inches near Madison and Washington; 16 inches in Dover
• New Jersey: 26.8 inches in Montville; 24 inches near Franklin Lakes; 23 inches in North Caldwell
• New York: 26 inches in Sloatsburg; 24.5 inches near Hillsdale; 15.1 inches in Saratoga Springs; 3.2 inches in Central Park
• Pennsylvania: 10.5 inches in Lower Makefield Township; 6.1 inches in Philadelphia
• Rhode Island: 13 inches in Burrillville; 11.3 inches in North Foster; 4.2 inches in North Providence; 2.3 inches in Providence
• Vermont: 36 inches near Woodford; 32.5 inches in Searsburg; 25 inches in Wilmington; 8.9 inches in Bennington

In addition to the snow, winds have gusted over 50 mph from parts of Long Island into New England, with a few gusts near 60 mph on Cape Cod and Nantucket, leading to hundreds of thousands of power outages across the Northeast.

Why Did the 'Q' Storm (Quinn) Affect the Northeast After the 'R' Storm (Riley)?

Winter Storm Quinn was named Feb. 28 as it began to impact the Sierra Nevada and other parts of the Mountain West with heavy snow and strong winds.

The Weather Channel and weather.com did not assign a name to Winter Storm Riley until early the following morning, Thursday, March 1, when the Buffalo National Weather Service office issued winter storm warnings for about 2.8 million people in western and north-central New York. That exceeded the population criterion (2 million) to name Riley.

Had the naming criteria been reached for last week's nor'easter before it was met for the western storm, last week's nor'easter would have become Quinn and the current storm would be Riley. Since that wasn't the case, the Northeast will actually be impacted by the "Q" storm (Quinn) after the "R" storm (Riley).