Matter of life and death'
The National Weather Service (NWS) earlier warned that a "potentially historic blizzard" was approaching the north-east.
Glenn Field of the NWS in Taunton, Massachusetts, told the BBC on Monday that the storm would be worse than previously thought.
Hurricane-force winds of up to 80 mph (130km/h) would batter Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, he said.