Winter's first big snowstorm hits the Northeast as schools close and traffic slows

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.

“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.

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.

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.

A person shovels a sidewalk after a winter snow storm in Pottsville, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A person walks past a business that closed due to snow in Portsmouth, N.H., Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

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)

A man clears snow from his car during a winter storm, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in Salem, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

A car rolls down a snow covered road during a winter storm, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in East Derry, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

A single-vehicle crash on Route 9 in Marlboro, Vt., Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, occurred as a snowstorm passed through the region and the vehicle slid off the road and hit a utility pole. (Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP)

Luke Moot hits a ramp during a snow day at Berkley Hills Golf Course in Johnstown, Pa., after the region received its first significant snowfall of the season, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (John Rucosky/Tribune-Democrat via AP)

Codi Ackley clears the parking lot outside Hotel Northampton in Northampton, Mass., Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (Daniel Jacobi II/Daily Hampshire Gazette via AP)

Snow accumulates in Worthington, Ohio, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Julie Carr Smyth)

Vehicles slowly move during a storm on Interstate 78 in Kutztown, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A person shovels a sidewalk after a winter snow storm in Pottsville, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A person clears a sidewalk after a winter snow storm in Pottsville, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A person checks their glasses as it snows in Portsmouth, N.H., Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

A person walks a dog in the snow in Portsmouth, N.H., Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

Vehicles slowly move during a storm on Interstate 78 in Kutztown, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Chairs are covered in snow in Glenview, Ill., Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

A person cleans snow in Glenview, Ill., Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

A snow plow truck drives during a snowy day in Wheeling, Ill., Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Snow blankets the steps of the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Marc Levy)

Heavy traffic is seen at the O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

A traveler checks the status of her flight at the O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

An American airplane arrives at the O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

A man fills up a vehicle's gas tank at a gas station in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

A pedestrian walks on a snow-covered sidewalk in Wheeling, Ill., Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

CHICAGO (AP) — Matthew Boyd struck out 10 while pitching into the sixth inning, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-2 on Wednesday.

Nico Hoerner had three hits for Chicago on a chilly and windy afternoon at Wrigley Field. Matt Shaw had two hits and two RBIs, and Alex Bregman reached three times in the rubber game of the three-game series.

Boyd (1-1) allowed two runs, one earned, and two hits over 5 2/3 innings in his second start of the season. The left-hander was tagged for six runs in 3 2/3 innings in a 10-4 loss to Washington on opening day.

Zach Neto had two of the Angels' four hits. Yusei Kikuchi (0-1) was charged with five runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Chicago grabbed control with five runs in the third inning. Miguel Amaya walked and scored from first on Hoerner's double into the gap in left-center. Bregman singled in Hoerner, and Dansby Swanson drove in Ian Happ with a sacrifice fly. Shaw and Pete Crow-Armstrong contributed two-out RBI singles.

First-year Los Angeles manager Kurt Suzuki wanted a replay review of the play at the plate when Amaya scored but was denied by the umpires because he took too long to decide on the challenge.

The Angels chased Boyd while scoring two runs in the sixth. Jo Adell singled in Neto, and Mike Trout scampered home on an error on Bregman at third.

The Cubs tacked on an unearned run in the seventh. Trout dropped Carson Kelly's leadoff flyball to center for an error, and Kelly scored on Shaw's one-out single.

Angels: Following an off day, LHP Reid Detmers (0-0, 5.79 ERA) starts for the Angels in their home opener on Friday night. RHP Bryan Woo (0-0, 3.00 ERA) takes the mound for Seattle.

Cubs: RHP Cade Horton (1-0, 2.84 ERA) starts the opener of a weekend series at Cleveland on Friday. LHP Joey Cantillo (0-0, 4.91 ERA) gets the ball for the Guardians.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Los Angeles Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Los Angeles Angels manager Kurt Suzuki, left, attempts to challenge a play with an umpire during the third inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong watches his RBI single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Chicago, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Chicago Cubs' Matt Shaw watches his RBI single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Chicago, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Chicago Cubs starter Matthew Boyd delivers a pitch during a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Chicago, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)