Photos: Snowstorm hits New England hard

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 6

A man cross-country skis down snow-covered Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, Jan 27, 2015. The first major storm of the winter blasted across eastern New England on Tuesday, unleashing whiteout conditions driven by gale-force winds.

The projected epic storm that failed to deliver in New York City instead turned its full fury on eastern New England on Tuesday, unleashing howling winds that created whiteout conditions across the region and upended life on Nantucket, where virtually everyone lost power as well as all methods of modern communications.

The 23 inches of snow that had blanketed Boston by Tuesday night hoisted the storm into the ranks of the 10 worst -- or best, if you were a dog frolicking alongside a skier on the Boston Common.

"This is a very severe storm," Mayor Martin J. Walsh said at a late-afternoon briefing as snow continued to bombard parts of the region at the rate of 4 inches an hour. Subway service was to resume Wednesday morning, but Walsh said he was uncertain when a parking ban would end and if he would extend the city's public school closings to Thursday. Limited Amtrak service between Boston and New York was to start back up on Wednesday. Jury selection in the Boston Marathon bombing trial was postponed for a second day and could resume Thursday.

The storm further isolated the island of Nantucket, where hurricane-force winds of 78 mph matched those on the top of Mount Washington, in New Hampshire, and forced the cancellation of ferries to the mainland. Almost all of Nantucket's 12,000 year-round residents lost power, but they were making do.

READ MORE: 'Storm That Dodged New York Hit Hard in New England'