A winter storm that has buried the East Coast of the United States in snow is to blame for gales and rain on the island, the Bermuda Weather Service said yesterday.

Storm Grayson hasbrought blizzards across the eastern seaboard.

James Dodgson, director of the Bermuda Weather Service, said: “These winter-type low pressure systems can be very large, more than 1,000km in diameter and this is the reason we are being impacted by the same system as the US.

“The weather impacts are different, though. The US is not only dealing with strong winds, but also snow, ice, sub-zero temperatures and isolated blizzard conditions.

“Because of Bermuda’s subtropical latitude and ocean location, we are not subject to sub-zero temperatures and winter-type precipitation.

Mr Dodgson added: “We have been subject to persistent rain and showers, isolated thunderstorms and strong to gale force winds, with some isolated gusts to storm force.”

He said rain and showers had largely cleared away by yesterday morning, but the weather is expected to be windy for a few more days.

The island recorded around 1.84in of rain in the first three days of the year.

Temperatures dropped to a low of 56F or 13C on Tuesday. Winds peaked early yesterday morning, with gusts reaching 45 knots or 52mph.

Conditions were much worse on the East Coast of America with thousands of flights grounded, including five flights to and from Bermuda.

Areas of New England recorded more than 16 inches of snow. The low pressure brought tides in Boston Harbour to near-record levels.

Thousands of people in the US lost power yesterday and hundreds of schools remained closed.