Three million without power after early U.S. snow

 　　WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- About 3 million people are without power on Sunday after the U.S. Northeast was struck by an unusually early snow which began to fall a day before, and at least three people have died of reasons related to the snow.

　　Electricity was out in large areas from Maryland to Maine, according to local authorities. The state of Connecticut was hit hardest, with more than 750,000 homes left without power, said Governor Dannel Malloy at a press briefing on Sunday morning. The number broke a state record set in August, when Hurricane Irene lashed¹ the East Coast. Malloy warned some could see their power out for a week.

　　Things were also bad in other places. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency reported on Sunday that more than 650, 000 people were without power in the state. The state of New Jersey² also saw 271,000 without power.

　　By Sunday morning, three deaths were cited related to the snow: one each in Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The victims died from falling trees, traffic accident and downed power line.

　　The rare October snowstorm began to pelt³ the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states with heavy and wet snow on Saturday, and is expected to stop by Sunday evening.

1 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

3 pelt   

v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火

参考例句：

• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。
• Crowds started to pelt police cars with stones.人群开始向警车扔石块。