BOSTON -- The blizzard that slammed Massachusetts dumped more than 2 feet of snow and brought hurricane-strength wind gusts, forcing school cancellations for at least two days in some communities.

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NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported that the snow buried cars and brought Logan International Airport to a standstill. As dusk approached, however, many of Boston's main roads were cleared.

"The issue we have now is people shoveling out and throwing the snow back into the streets. We are just asking folks to help us do a better job. You shouldn't do that," Boston Mayor Tom Menino said.

Menino said it will likely take several days to dig out from the storm and he canceled school on both Monday and Tuesday for Boston Public School students. He also said there will be no trash pickup in the city on Monday. [Hundreds of Bay State schools will be closed Monday. Check our closings list.]

More than 300 cars were towed from the streets of Boston and at least 3,000 parking tickets were issued, but Menino said that most residents are cooperating with his plea to stay off the streets. The parking ban in Boston will stay in effect until Monday. The mayor's hotline for residents' non-emergency questions is 1-800-391-4039.

Jimmy Robichaud, of Boston left his car parked on the street and said that it would take him at least two hours to dig out his car.

"I wasn't really thinking," he said. "I didn’t think it was going to be like this."

Only essential city employees were urged to go to work on Monday, and Menino told businesses to let their employees work from home where possible.

"We are asking businesses in our city to have a reduced workforce tomorrow so that the public works crews can continue their job of moving the snow," Menino said.

The mayor also asked residents to dig out the fire hydrants in front of their homes and businesses.

After checking out the conditions, Gov. Mitt Romney asked some state employees to stay home.

"I am going to ask state workers in some counties of the state not to come to work -- basically, the counties along the coast -- Essex, Plymouth, Bristol, Middlesex, Suffolk, the Cape and Islands, Norfolk, but folks will be going to work in the state offices in Worcester, Berkshire, Hampden and Hampshire and Franklin counties," Romney said.

All of the county courts in eastern Massachusetts will be closed Monday.

Winthrop, Mass., was one of the hardest hit coastal communities, where there were whiteout conditions for most of Sunday morning. The state of emergency and parking ban made the community a virtual ghost town.

Police officers were forced to patrol the town on their personal sport utility vehicles after the brutal cold and high snowdrifts stopped many patrol cars in their tracks.

A number of firefighters and police officers manned town plows Sunday night, giving weary Department of Public Works employees a much-needed break.

"This is what it comes down to. It is what it is all about, using the resources the town has to offer to get the job done," plow operator Mark LeCalir said.

Some side streets had snowdrifts 6- to 7-feet high. On Winthrop Street, neighbors helped to dig each other out.

"That's Mark. He is terrific. Johnny came over and did the steps. We help each other," one resident said.

On the South Shore, snow continued to fall Sunday night, where the waves along the shore jumped up to 30 feet in the air.

"People shouldn't be out driving at all. I have a plow, but there are a lot of cars that shouldn't be out there," plow operator Mark LeCalir said.

Meanwhile, there were thousands of customers without power on the South Shore and Cape Cod.

NStar said that all the snow is making it hard to get to some of its 16,000 customers without electricity, and Mass Electric has more than 1,000 customers without power.

MassPort officials at Logan said that they hoped to get at least one runway open by late Sunday night.