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East Coast Snows Leave 3 Dead And Many Stranded

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- An unusually early snowstorm is causing major problems out East.

The forecast in parts of New England calls for more than a foot of snow, and parts of Massachusetts have gotten 20 inches of it.

The weather, now nicknamed "Oct-SNOW-ber," is weighing down on powerlines and trees still full of autumn leaves. The weight caused one snow-laden branch in Pennsylvania to snap, killing an 84-year-old man as it crashed into his home, CBS News reported.

According to that same report, a young man died after touching a charged metal guardrail that was sectioned off by police near a downed powerline in Massachusetts. The storm also claimed the life of a driver in Connecticut.

The heavy, wet snow has knocked out power for nearly two million people.

But even though the snow is hundreds of miles away from Minnesota, it's causing problems for people at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP).

Jilian Van Ells, of Washington D.C., said she just hopes her plane can land when she flies back to home.

"I've gotten a text message saying flurries," she said. "It looks like D.C. is OK."

For those who can't fly because of the storm, a resting place with 700 cots will be set up on the airport's upper level, a spokesperson for the airport said.

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