A powerful snowstorm is pounding the mid-Atlantic and the U.S. Northeast early today and has prompted flight cancellations, school closures, and warnings from city and state officials to stay off the roads.

The same system is also hammering parts of southern Ontario and Quebec, as well as Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Parts of Newfoundland could get hit by the storm on Wednesday.

Hundreds of flights out of Toronto have been cancelled.

The U.S. National Weather Service issued blizzard warnings for parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont.

The storm has paralyzed much of the Washington-to-Boston corridor after a remarkably mild February had lulled people into thinking the worst of winter was over.

The storm was expected to dump 30 to 45 centimetres of snow on the New York City metro area with wind gusts of up to 88.5 km/h.

The weather service’s office near Philadelphia called the storm “life-threatening” and warned people to “shelter in place.” Coastal flood warnings were in effect from Massachusetts to Delaware.

5,000 flights cancelled

According to the airline-tracking website FlightAware, more than 5,000 flights Tuesday were cancelled, including more than 2,800 in the New York City area, where about 200 passengers were stranded at John F. Kennedy airport. Amtrak also cancelled and modified service up and down the Northeast Corridor.

In New York City, the above-ground portions of the subway system were being shut down Tuesday morning.

Nearly 100,000 customers from Virginia to Pennsylvania lost power.

In the nation’s capital, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management announced a three-hour delayed arrival for non-emergency employees at area federal offices — with an option of unscheduled leave or telework. Emergency employees of the federal government in the Washington, D.C., area were to report on time unless otherwise directed.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency Tuesday for all of New York’s 62 counties, including New York City’s five boroughs. The Democrat also directed non-essential state employees to stay home from work as authorities advised people to stay off the roads.

In Massachusetts, where forecasts called for 30 to 45 centimetres of snow, Gov. Charlie Baker encouraged motorists to stay off the roads and to take public transit only if absolutely necessary. The fast snowfall rates will “create hazardous driving conditions across the Commonwealth,” he said.

Schools in New York City, Philadelphia, Boston and elsewhere were all closed Tuesday.

This satellite image taken around 12:12 a.m. ET Tuesday shows clouds around the U.S. Northeast. (NOAA/Associated Press)

‘Hot chocolate and a couple of sappy movies’

Juan Castro, of Pittsburg, Calif., waited at a hotel by the World Trade Center for his pre-dawn ride to a hospital where his sister was having surgery. The hospital had assured his family that the procedure would go on despite the weather. He was layered up and wore boots he’d bought just for the storm. Castro, a pastor, reasoned that the weather was OK with him.

“It’s beautiful,” he said as the snow swirled on a Lower Manhattan street. “You’ve got to be positive.”

Bank teller Jana White said her plans for riding out the storm included “lots of hot chocolate and a couple of sappy movies.”

At least some people are enjoying the weather. Two men played golf with a tennis ball as the snowstorm swept through New York City’s Times Square early Tuesday. (Mark Lennihan/Associated Press)

“It’s a reminder that winter is always ready to take shot at you, so you have to stay prepared,” the 23-year-old Trenton, N.J., resident said. “We’ve got food and snacks and drinks, so as long as the power stays on we should be in good shape.”

In Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency and urged residents not to be lulled into a false sense of security due to the mild winter.

“This is a serious winter storm,” Hogan said, adding that some parts of the state could see over a foot of snow. “It’s obviously going to be the biggest event we’ve had this season and people need to be prepared. They need to be safe.”

The heaviest snowfall was expected Tuesday morning through the afternoon, with snowfall rates as high as five to 10 centimetres per hour.

On Monday, some stores had bare shelves, like at this Trader Joe’s grocery store in New York as people stocked up to weather the storm. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

700 National Guard members, 2,000 plows

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said about 700 National Guard members would be deployed, along with more than 2,000 snowplows to keep up with the storm that was expected to bring a foot or more of snow to some parts of the state.

In Illinois, state police say snowy weather caused two crashes on a Chicago expressway that involved a total of 34 cars. A State Police spokesman says seven people sustained minor injuries in Monday night’s pileup on the Kennedy Expressway. Both wrecks occurred in the express lanes of the highway on the city’s North Side.

The nor’easter comes a week after the region saw temperatures climb above 15 C. Spring officially starts on March 20.

A woman crosses a street during the storm in Philadelphia where schools are closed Tuesday. (Matt Rourke/Associated Press)

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