By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

BOSTON, April 16 (Reuters) - Gale-force winds and record rainfall battered the U.S. Northeast for a second day on Monday as a rare spring northeaster storm blanketed areas in snow, downed power lines, flooded coastal areas and delayed travel.

"This storm ranks up there in terms of severity and it comes unusually late in the season," said Glenn Field, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts.

In New Jersey, Acting Gov. Richard Codey declared a state of emergency after many roads were closed by flooding. "Residents should not travel unless necessary," Codey's office said in a statement. "The public can expect significant delays."

Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell issued a similar warning to motorists in her state, where as much as 8 inches (20 cm) of rain fell, flooding at least one heavily traveled rail line, her office said.

Some towns including Mamaroneck, New York, urged residents to evacuate as floodwaters approached, submerging cars as rescue workers waded in to offer help, local television pictures showed in New York.

Across the region, new rainfall records were set with New York City's Central Park measuring 7.57 inches (19.23 cm), marking the wettest day in 125 years, officials said.

Winds gusted as high as 75 miles per hour (120 km per hour) in southern New England, according to the National Weather Service, whose meteorologists forecast wind speeds will pick up again over New England in a day or two as the storm's center moves north.

"I have never seen anything like this," said Ted Nichols, in Wilton, New Hampshire, after his basement was flooded and he had trouble getting to work on Monday because many roads were closed around his home.

BLANKETED WITH SNOW

Parts of northern New York state, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire and western Massachusetts were blanketed with snow at a time many trees and flowers were already blooming. The National Weather service forecast more than 12 inches (30 cm) of snow along northern New England and New York's Adirondack Mountains, according to its Web site.

The storm also snarled air and rail traffic along the busy northeast corridor during Monday morning's rush hour. Hundreds of flights were canceled and thousands of rail commuters faced longer than normal travel times.

Passengers flying from Washington, New York, and Boston faced hours of delays as heavy winds forced many airlines to temporarily ground their planes, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's Web site.

The storm also left thousands of people without power across the region as crews scrambled to repair downed lines. Coastal flooding is also a problem, emergency management teams across the region said.

In Boston, the city's 111th annual Marathon, went off on schedule with many runners donning plastic garbage bags to hold off the rain and stay warm.

"I've not run in conditions this bad," said Mike Stirling, one of the 23,500 runners entered in the race. "Colder but drier, wetter but warmer, I've done." (Additional reporting by Scott Malone and Jason Szep in Boston, Jon Hurdle in Philadelphia, Dan Trotta and Matthew Robinson in New York and Brian Early in New Hampshire)

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