MYFOXNY.COM - A rare and deadly October snowstorm socked a wide swath of the East Coast, setting a snowfall record in New York City, delaying flights and knocking out power to more than two million households.

Earlier Sunday, Consolidated Edison reported almost 69,000 customers were without power in Westchester County, as were about 4,700 customers in New York City.

Customers throughout New York are without power after the snowfall brought down trees and power lines.

The counties in the Hudson Valley were the hardest hit. Orange and Rockland reported more than 36,000 customers without power in Rockland County, and just under 20,000 customers in the dark in Orange County. New York State Electric and Gas had more than 32,000 customers out in Putnam County, along with more than 11,400 in Dutchess and 5,600 in Orange.

National Grid had 6,300 customers out in Rensselaer County, and 3,800 in Albany County.

The outages were among 2.7 million along the East Coast due to the October snow.

By 9:00pm ET Saturday, authorities in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Pennsylvania said three people had died in storm-related incidents Saturday, including a man in Springfield, Mass., who was killed when he touched an electrified guardrail on the side of a road, The Republican reported.

Elsewhere, an 84-year-old man was killed as he napped on a recliner in his home in Temple, Pa., when a tree fell onto his house at around 2:20pm, state police told FOX News Channel. In Connecticut, Gov. Danell Malloy said Saturday evening that a person died in a storm-related car crash on Route 85 near Colchester, Conn.

Snow and freezing rain fell steadily Saturday and by 8:00pm ET, New York City had broken its October snow record with 1.3 inches (3.3cm) recorded in Central Park, the NWS said. The previous October record was set on Oct. 30, 1925, with 0.8 inches (2.3cm).

"Since snowfall records began in 1869, an inch of snowfall has never been recorded in the month of October," the NWS said.

Parts of Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts were also expected to set October snowfall records after the Nor'easter blows through early Sunday. Up to 12 inches (30cm) could fall in those areas, with Boston bracing for about three inches (7cm) of accumulation.

Ahead of the storm, forecasters had also warned that the heavy, wet snow would add weight to trees that had not yet lost their leaves, contributing to falling branches and the possibility of downed power lines.

More than two million customers lost power in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Massachusetts, Virginia and New Jersey, where Gov. Chris Christie declared a state of emergency after more than 500,000 people lost power in the Garden State by late afternoon.

The early-season Nor'easter also disrupted air, road and rail travel.

Heavy delays were reported at John F. Kennedy airport in New York and at Philadelphia International airport. Arriving flights at Newark-Liberty International airport were delayed by an average of more than six hours at one point on Saturday afternoon.

Travel on the roads was also proving treacherous and local officials urged people to stay home. In Connecticut, Gov. Malloy also declared a state of emergency after more than 600,000 households were left without power. Malloy banned all non-emergency vehicles on the Merritt and Wilbur Cross parkways Saturday night, the Hartford Courant reported.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency in 13 counties and warned citizens to stay off the roads.

"With serious snowfall and wind sweeping through parts of New York, the state of emergency declaration will help deploy state resources to communities that have been hit the hardest by this storm," Cuomo said in a statement. "I urge New Yorkers to have safety as their top priority and avoid driving on icy roads or during heavy snowfall."

Cuomo added that 825 plow trucks had been made ready for snow and ice control operations and that 162 state troopers had been assigned to affected areas.

Amtrak said late Saturday that its Keystone Service between Harrisburg, Pa., and Philadelphia will be suspended overnight due to weather-related problems.

The severe weather also affected sporting contests, with 11 Sanford H. Calhoun High School football players treated at area hospitals for hypothermia and high blood pressure after playing in the perilous conditions on Long Island, the New York Post reported.

New York City parks commissioner Adrian Benepe said the weather system had caused many city parks to become danger zones, with thousands of branches at risk of falling in Central Park alone.

"It almost looks like a war zone at the south end of Central Park," Benepe said.

One broken branch struck a 69-year-old woman in Central Park at about 1:15pm as the storm intensified. She was in stable condition Saturday night at New York Hospital, police said.

As of 5:00pm there had been more than 700 calls from across the city reporting downed trees and limbs, with more than half