Snowplow crews struggled to clear clogged streets across the Northeast as cities watched the holiday-overtime bills pile up Thursday from a Christmas Day storm that dumped up to 3 feet of snow.

The storm has been blamed for at least 23 deaths since it moved out of the Plains earlier in the week. It hit the Atlantic Coast as a nor’easter.

For the Northeast, the timing was a blessing in some respects: Schools are closed this week for Christmas, and many workers are on vacation.

Dozens of municipalities declared emergencies to deal with the snow, which fell at 5 inches an hour Wednesday in Albany, N.Y.

Flights throughout the Northeast were delayed or canceled, but many airports resumed normal service Thursday. In some airports, passengers slept on cots.

Tens of thousands of people from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania remained without electricity, though utility officials said most had power by Thursday afternoon. At one point, 100,000 people in eastern Pennsylvania were without power.