US weather: Northeast’s first big winter storm brings dangerous roads, flight delays and widespread school closures

The US has been hit by the first major winter storm, which struck on Monday (local time) and has now covered large parts of the mid-Atlantic as well as the Northeastern part of the country with snow and ice. This has disrupted travel, and led to the closure of schools as some areas are bracing themselves for several inches of heavy snowfall, as per a report by the Associated Press.

Hundreds of flights were delayed and roads became hazardous for travel before sunrise, thus 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, as per several media reports.

Snow has high as a foot (30 cm) as well as wind and heavy rains, can also reach states like Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts and Maine. However, some parts of the region did not receive as much wind and snow as earlier predicted.

Winter sports operators are the ones encouraged by this storm. “It looks like winter wonderland at the moment,” John Marino in New York’s Catskill Mountains, told AP. This region could get upto 8 inches of snow, and Marino, the owner of a ski-shop, is excited as this is a welcome bonus before the season gets into gear.

The storm came just when the US Midwest was getting some relief from the snow and ice that impacted Thanksgiving travel. The O’Hare International Airport in Chicago saw the highest single calendar day snowfall in November. The previous highest was observed way back in 1951.

Winter weather strikes Northeast US

“It’s going to be the first snowfall of the season for many of these areas, and it’s going to be rather significant,” a meteorologist at the National Weather Service (NWS) told AP.

The NWS has warned that snow and ice would make travelling dangerous in the coastal areas of Maine from Tuesday morning until Wednesday morning. It has advised travellers to delay their trips if possible. Several schools in the Northeastern region have also been shut, with the heavy snowfall making roads slippery during commute in the morning. A number of highway crashes have also been 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 NWS.

Vehicle restrictions were also imposed on a number of interstates in the eastern part of Pennsylvania. Steady snowfall was reported from the Lehigh Valley on Tuesday Morning.

With AP inputs