NYC area faces 'biggest snowstorm' amid dry winter; New England could see 8 inches of snow

Federal forecasters said what was likely to be the "biggest snowstorm of the season" could leave accumulated snow on the streets of New York City on Tuesday morning.

The front will blast points north and east with snow, as well, the National Weather Service said, with as many as 8 inches likely in New England.

"New York City will be on the southern edge of the heaviest snowfall and could mix with sleet at times, limiting snowfall amounts to the 2-6-[inch] range, but still likely the biggest snowstorm of the season," the service said in a forecast discussion.

Snow began falling Monday evening, leaving streets and vehicles covered in a thin layer of the precipitation in New York City.

Still, forecasters expected an accumulation of snow that has been rare this winter. There was a 76% probability that Central Park would get at least 2 inches of snow overnight, according to NBC New York.

NYC 'ready' for snow, mayor says

"We haven’t seen snow this year, but we’re ready for it," NYC Mayor Eric Adams said in a tweet Monday.

He said city workers were "prepared to plow anywhere we accumulate 2 inches" of snow.

Much of the Hudson Valley and northern New Jersey could also get a half-foot of snow when all is said and done, the station said.

Federal forecasters in Buffalo, in Western New York, said the storm had already given the area a 4-inch blanket of snow in the span of a few hours Monday night.

The National Weather Service office that covers Buffalo described it on Twitter as a “burst of heavy snow.”

Storm could cause travel chaos

The National Weather Service warned of "hazardous driving conditions" for parts of New England and upstate New York. "Use extra caution while driving," it said, noting that closures and disruptions to infrastructure could occur.

By early Tuesday morning, dozens of flights within, into and out of the U.S. were cancelled at New York airports, but it was not immediately clear if the cancellations were due to the weather.

At least 85 flights were canceled at LaGuardia Airport, while another 36 were listed as canceled at John F. Kennedy International Airport, according to online flight tracker FlightAware. At least 26 were halted at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

Overall, more than 400 U.S. flights were canceled early Tuesday, with Boston Logan International Airport seeing at least 44 flights called off, according to the flight tracking website.

Nearby states prepare for impact

The forecast prompted Gov. Ned Lamont of neighboring Connecticut to close all state buildings under his office's control Tuesday. In a statement Monday night, he urged the people of his state to stay off the roads if possible.

"We’ve lucked out so far this winter season with very little snow up until now, however that is looking like it will change Monday night as a significant snowstorm will come through Connecticut,” Lamont said.

He ordered nonessential state workers to work from home or, if that isn't possible, to stay put, as 600 trucks used to salt roads and plow snow were being deployed to keep Connecticut's roadways open.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said Monday that power outages were possible in central and western regions of the state, where higher snowfall was expected.

Federal forecasters blamed a system, with cold air "locked in place," that's moving east from the Great Lakes to the Northeast and eventually into the northern edges of New England.

The system triggered winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories from central Pennsylvania to coastal Maine.

As forecasters in parts of New York tracked snowfall across the state, the storm was also bringing steady rainfall to Baltimore and Washington, D.C., on Monday, while the Allegheny Mountains to the west were likely to get freezing fog, the weather service said.

Outages continue in Michigan and California

Other parts of the country continue to grapple with the aftermath of recent severe weather, with more than 147,000 utility customers still without power in Michigan as of early Tuesday following a brutal ice storm last week. Many have been without power for days as officials work to restore services.

In California, nearly 50,000 people were also without power after storms pummeled parts of the state, prompting rare blizzard warnings.