Children and many workers stayed home Wednesday and crews plowed ice and up to a foot of snow from roads as a major snowstorm blew out to sea after crippling a region from the Plains to the Northeast.

"I hate it. I'm supposed to be at work already, but the snowplow blocked us in and we've been out here shoveling for an hour-and-a-half," Janet Kazzi said this morning in Stamford, Conn.Thousands were still without power Wednesday after ice and wind-blown snow broke lines.

Snow still blew through the Northeast Wednesday, but accumulations were not as high as some forecasts, because a nor'easter that developed along the coast edged farther out to sea than expected. Snow also was scattered along parts of the Great Lakes.

Three weather-related deaths were reported in Connecticut.

But in St. Louis, Joshua Charles Hoefelmann was born in spite of snow-clogged streets that stranded his mother 100 feet from a hospital.

The baby's parents, Don and Diane Hoefelmann, got stuck Tuesday as the storm plastered the city with 5 inches of snow.

"I just stopped in the intersection, went around to her side of the van and did what I could, making sure the cord wasn't wrapped around the baby's head," Hoefelmann said.

"That doctor just left his own car sitting out there in the middle of the street in the blizzard. He was wonderful," Hoefelmann said.

As much as 10 inches of snow fell elsewhere in Missouri on Tuesday as the storm blew from the southern Plains all the way to New England. Up to a foot fell in Ohio, Massachusetts got 101/2 inches and southern Maine got 6 inches.

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Up to 11 inches fell on New York's Long Island, and high seas whipped up by the nor'easter caused minor flooding along the New Jersey coast.

School closings were scattered across the Ohio Valley and the Northeast, and some businesses opened late.

Most airports were open Wednesday, but some runways were still clogged and many flights canceled.

Some travelers had to spend the night at New Jersey's Newark International Airport because nearby hotel and motel rooms filled up early.

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