Winter's first big snowstorm hits the Northeast as schools close and traffic slows

A person clears a sidewalk after a winter snow storm in Pottsville, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The first major storm of the winter covered parts of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic with snow and ice Tuesday, making roads hazardous, disrupting travel and closing schools as some areas braced for several inches of heavy snowfall.

The storm could deliver up to a foot (30 centimeters) of snow as well as wind and heavy rain across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut and New York, although some areas were spared the predicted high totals. Winter storm warnings and weather advisories were in place throughout the day.

“It looks like winter wonderland at the moment,” said John Marino in New York’s Catskill Mountains, which could get up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow. As co-owner of a ski shop, he said he’s grateful that several inches had already accumulated by Tuesday afternoon, a welcome bonus as the season gets into gear.

Hundreds of flights were delayed and roads across the region turned hazardous before sunrise, slowing commutes. In West Virginia, a tractor-trailer driver was rescued unhurt when his cab dangled off a bridge for several hours after losing control in snowy conditions early Tuesday, news outlets reported.

The storm came just as the Midwest began to escape the snow and ice that snarled travel after the Thanksgiving holiday. Chicago O’Hare International Airport set a record for the highest single calendar day snowfall in November at the airport, with more than 8 inches (20 centimeters), according to the weather service. The previous record was set in 1951.

Winter weather arrives in the Northeast

“It’s going to be the first snowfall of the season for many of these areas, and it’s going to be rather significant,” said Andrew Orrison, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.

Meteorological winter, which covers December through February, is used by climate scientists for consistent recordkeeping and differs from the astronomical seasons found on most calendars.

The National Weather Service warned that snow and ice would make travel dangerous in coastal Maine from Tuesday morning until Wednesday morning and urged residents to delay trips if possible. Several Northeast states also shut schools and as the snow began falling before dawn, making roads slippery during the morning commute. Numerous highway crashes were reported.

The first wallop of December snow brought back a new tradition in New Hampshire, where residents were invited to submit names for the state’s second annual name-a-plow competition.

“We have orange snowplows just waiting for the perfect name,” the Department of Transportation said on social media. Last winner’s top name was Ctrl-Salt-Delete. This season’s winners will be announced in January.

The storm’s path

The snowstorm sweeping the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast began as a weaker system over the central U.S. but strengthened as it neared the coast, said Ashton Robinson Cook at the NWS’s Weather Prediction Center.

These kinds of storms are uncommon but not “too far out of the realm of possibility,” he said. The next system could also bring winter weather to the Mid-Atlantic through Friday and Saturday.

Schools closed, roads jammed, crashes reported

Winter weather advisories remained across Ohio on Tuesday, as the icy conditions snarled traffic and shuttered schools. Snowfall overnight left accumulations of 3 to 5 inches (7 to 12 centimeters) in some southern parts of the state, according to the National Weather Service.

A portion of I-70 West through Cleveland had to be closed as a crash was cleared, while highways around Columbus saw dangerous slowdowns. Troopers in New York also reported multiple weather-related crashes and vehicles off the road along Interstate 87 north of Albany.

Vehicle restrictions were imposed on many interstates in the eastern half of Pennsylvania, including on the turnpike system’s Northeast Extension, from the Lehigh Valley to Clarks Summit.

Snow was falling steadily in the Lehigh Valley by Tuesday morning.

“We really prepare for snow all year long,” Orbanek said.

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Associated Press journalists Michael Hill in Altamont, New York, Nam Y. Huh and Adam Schreck in Chicago, Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, Jamie Stengle in Dallas, Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Matt Rourke in Kutztown, Pennsylavania, and Haya Panjwani in Washington contributed to this report.