The New York-New Jersey region woke up to a layer of wet snow and more power cuts after a new storm pushed back efforts to recover from a superstorm that left millions powerless and dozens dead last week.

The storm did not bring a second wave of flooding that some had feared.

Households in the country’s most densely populated region that had waited for days without power after superstorm Sandy were plunged back into darkness, with temperatures near freezing.

But the new storm did not appear to rouse exhausted residents to a new chorus of complaints.

Roads in New Jersey and New York City were clear for the morning commute, and rail lines into New York were running smoothly, despite snow still coming down heavily in some areas.

Parts of battered New Jersey had just over 12 inches of snow overnight. Residents from Connecticut to Rhode Island saw up to six inches.

In New Jersey, utilities reported about 390,000 power cuts. About 160,000 of those were new. In New York City and neighbouring Westchester County, more than 70,000 customers were without power after the storm knocked out an additional 55,000 customers.

Long Island had 60,000 new cuts in a region where 300,000 customers were already without power.

Airlines cancelled at least 1,300 US flights in and out of the New York metropolitan area on Wednesday, causing a new round of disruptions that rippled across the country. (AFP)

The region’s greatest challenge remains finding emergency housing for tens of thousands of people, in some cases for the long term.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has said 95,000 people in New York and New Jersey are eligible for emergency housing assistance.

Air travel in the New York area is still not back to normal after the second major storm in little more than a week.

Major airlines have scratched about 600 flights around the US. The majority of those are in the New York area, although airports in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, DC and elsewhere are affected.

(AP)

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