Photo courtesy of Kordite

The severity of the impact is due in large part to trees still having their fall leaves. The snow-laden leaves snap tree branches, knocking out utility lines. 

"You just have absolute tree carnage with this heavy snow just straining the branches," National Weather Service Spokesman Chris Vaccaro said. 

Some areas saw almost two feet of snow. Massachusetts was hit hardest. One small town, Peru, saw 32 inches of snow.

The death of a Bronx grandmother is being blamed on the storm which shut off power to her oxygen machine. A Pennsylvania man died when a tree branch crashed onto his house while he was napping in a recliner. A man in Springfield, Mass. was electrocuted. Road conditions are being blamed for deaths in Conn. and New York.

View the story "The October Storm Surprised Many:" on Storify]