PORTLAND, Maine. The Northeast braced for its first major snowstorm of the season Tuesday, while snow and ice that had hampered travel since the Thanksgiving holiday began to clear from the Midwest.
Up to 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) of snow were expected in parts of northern New England. A windy, potentially icy storm was heading into the region and could flood parts of the region's six states while dumping snow on others, forecasters said.
The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories for states including Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut and New York ahead of the snowfall.
The winter blast is expected days after more than 8 inches (20.32 centimeters) of snow fell at Chicago O'Hare International Airport over the weekend, setting a record for the highest snowfall in a single calendar day in November at the airport, according to the weather service. The previous record was set in 1951.
Snow was gradually melting in the Great Lakes region, but a new storm was heading into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, dropping up to a foot of snow by Tuesday, National Weather Service meteorologist Andrew Orrison said.
“For many of these areas, this will be the first snowfall of the season and it will be quite significant,” Orrison said.
The National Weather Service issued a warning for coastal Maine from Tuesday morning through Wednesday morning, saying residents “should postpone all travel if possible” due to the snow. The state is one of many expecting its first snowfall in December, forecasters say.
In New Hampshire, the Department of Transportation on Sunday invited residents to submit names for its second annual “Name the Plow” contest.
“Welcome to the Department of the Seven Snowplows, our winter version of the classic tale. Hawthorne had gables. We have orange snowplows just waiting for the perfect name,” the department said on social media.
The last winner's first name was Ctrl-Salt-Delete. This season's winners will be announced in January.
With plowed snow expected to blanket much of Pennsylvania, crews began treating lanes along the 565-mile (909-kilometer) Pennsylvania Turnpike system Monday, agency spokeswoman Marissa Orbanek said. Vehicle restrictions on many interstates in the eastern half of Pennsylvania, including the northeast extension of the highway from the Lehigh Valley to Clarks Summit, will go into effect at 5 a.m. Tuesday.
More than 600 equipment operators and safety workers are on hand to help clear the 2,900-mile (4,667-kilometer) highway lane, Orbanek said. The mainline's winter staffing began in mid-November, with 23 maintenance depots operating around the clock.
“We really prepare for snow year-round,” Orbanek said.
In Chicago, Don Herrian was among a crowd of travelers at O'Hare on Sunday, hoping to return home after Thanksgiving as hundreds of flights were delayed and canceled due to winter storm in the Great Lakes region.
A 76-year-old retiree from Ardmore, Oklahoma, was visiting his daughter and her family in Indianapolis. He said his first flight was three hours late, and his connecting flight to Oklahoma City from Chicago was already delayed another two hours.
“It is what it is,” Herrian said. “It’s busy, but that’s to be expected with the snow, delays and holidays.”
Roads leading to O'Hare were clogged with slow-moving vehicles Sunday, even after the roads were cleared of snow. Planes were being de-iced Sunday at several airports across the country, including Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
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Associated Press reporters Adam Schreck in Chicago, Jamie Stengle in Dallas and Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and photojournalist Nam Y. Ha in Chicago contributed to this report.
