Winter's first big snowstorm hits the Northeast as schools close and
traffic slows
[December 03, 2025]
By PATRICK WHITTLE
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 of snow (30 centimeters) as well as
wind and heavy rain to states including Pennsylvania, New York,
Massachusetts and Maine, although parts of the region were spared the
predicted high totals. 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 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 its highest single calendar day
snowfall in November, 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 year's top name
was Ctrl-Salt-Delete. This season’s winners will be announced in
January.
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A person walks a dog on a slushy street after a winter snow storm in
Pottsville, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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,” the Pennsylvania
Turnpike's press secretary, Marissa Orbanek, said.
___
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.
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