Residents on the east coast of the United States have been left celebrating Halloween in darkness after an unseasonable snowstorm swept across the region leaving a trail of devastation.

Areas of Massachusetts recorded nearly 70cm of snowfall in a single day, with at least nine people feared dead.

Transport in the region has also been severely disrupted, while more than three million homes from Maryland to Massachusetts have lost electricity supplies.

Officials in Maine, Massachusetts and New Jersey said service would not return to normal for several days, while in Connecticut and New Hampshire it could be more than a week.

Road accidents in Philadelphia, Temple, Colchester and New York all cost lives, while in Springfield, Massachusetts, a man died when he touched a protective rail surrounding downed power lines.

More than 1,000 flights had to be cancelled into or out of the United States following the storm, while there was widespread disruption on the roads.

Passengers were stranded for more than seven hours on one JetBlue flight in Hartford, Connecticut.

On Saturday, flights were delayed at Newark airport in New Jersey, which was being lashed by heavy rains and winds.

Amtrak reported massive disruption to train services, including a 13-hour delay for passengers on one train in central Massachusetts.