Posted Monday, October 31, 2011 --- 7:00 a.m.

SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn. (AP) -- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says the damage to utilities in his state by an October snowstorm is worse than the destruction caused by Hurricane Irene in August.

The state still has around 400,000 people without power early Monday. Across the Northeast, more than 2 million are in the dark after the storm dumped anywhere from a trace of snow to 30 inches from Maryland to Maine.

The National Weather Service says Northeasterners shouldn't necessarily fear a repeat of the hard winters of the past two years.

Aaron Tyburski is a meteorologist in State College, Pa. He says "the first one we get this season isn't likely to change anything" in the long term.

He says that "while it is quite an event, we may go the next month and not get any snow." But he notes that models do indicate a chance of above-normal precipitation later in the season.

Copyright 2011. The Associated Press.