Powerful nor'easter lashes New England

A powerful, slow-moving nor'easter is bringing heavy rain, howling winds and high surf to New England again Thursday.

The storm battered the area late Wednesday, with damage reported across the region, according to AccuWeather.

Tens of thousands of customers were without power across Connecticut, New York, Maine and Massachusetts, mainly due to downed trees. At one point, 44,000 customers throughout the area were without power.

On Wednesday, hundreds of flights were delayed at airports as far south as Philadelphia due to the high winds.

The storm will continue to bring periods of rain into early Friday, the National Weather Service reports. By Friday evening, the storm should pull slowly away from the region, allowing for improving conditions from west to east.

A few inches of rain are possible over parts of New England through the end of the week. East Milton, Mass., already picked up five inches of rain from late Wednesday into early Thursday, AccuWeather reported.

Flood watches and warnings as well as high wind warnings were posted throughout New England.

There have been no reports of major injuries or deaths. At least one school district has canceled classes.

Nor'easters are intense areas of low pressure that develop off the East Coast during the fall, winter and early spring. The storms are called "nor'easters" because they usually bring strong northeast winds over the East as they move north along the Atlantic Coast.

Winter nor'easters have brought some of the East Coast's heaviest snowfalls.

Contributing: The Associated Press