A snowstorm in the Northeast dumped more than six inches of snow in some areas by Thursday afternoon, while several feet of lake-effect snow were expected in areas along the Great Lakes over the weekend, making Thanksgiving travel dangerous for drivers.
The storm was moving north from northeastern Pennsylvania, where some areas north of Interstate 80 had gotten up to four inches of snow by Thursday afternoon.
Snow was also falling in northern New England, and over a foot could pile up in inland Maine and northern New Hampshire, according to the National Weather Service.
“The storm is moving along at a fairly progressive pace,” said Scott Kleebauer, a meteorologist at the service’s Storm Prediction Center. “That’s one of the positives, at least to limit some of the snowfall over portions of northern New England.”
Up to six inches of snow were expected across the Mid-Atlantic region.
A winter storm warning was in effect until 1 a.m. Friday for several counties in upstate New York, including Fulton and western Schenectady Counties, and for Bennington and western Windham Counties in Vermont. There were snow and ice conditions on northern stretches of Interstates 87 and 90 on Thursday afternoon.
The Albany area, which had an inch of snow by Thursday afternoon, was forecast to receive from three to six inches. To the west, Richmondville, N.Y., had already received six inches of accumulation.
Storm conditions could last for the rest of the day and into the night in New York and southern New England, and begin to dwindle early Friday morning around Maine.
A lake-effect snow warning issued by the National Weather Service in Buffalo, N.Y., was in effect from Friday morning to Monday evening.
A band spanning the Great Lakes, from Michigan to Cleveland to Buffalo, was expected to see an unusual lake-effect snowstorm that would bring a large amount of snow.
“Two to three feet is not out of the question,” William Churchill, a forecaster at the National Weather Service, said. “What’s unique about this event is it’s a longer duration — sometimes these events are pretty quick, but this one is going to be all weekend and into next week.”
Most of the major metropolitan areas in the Northeast experienced warm enough temperatures to see only rainfall.
“The coastal areas will still have some tough travel, obviously, because of the rainfall,” Mr. Kleebauer said. “But in terms of the slicker conditions, the icy conditions involving the snow, those are going to be more confined to more of the interior portions of the Northeast.”
According to AAA, the automobile organization, nearly 72 million motorists were expected to travel for Thanksgiving this year. Thursday’s storm could hamper holiday gatherings.
“Traveling on Thanksgiving Day itself is usually the best because it’s fewer crowds,” Aixa Diaz, a spokesperson for AAA, said on Monday. “This year it’s just going to be terrible weather.”
Ms. Diaz said AAA rescued more than half a million people over Thanksgiving last year. With Thursday’s inclement weather, she said, conditions “could be rough.”
Most airports in the Northeast had few delays and cancellations in the early afternoon, according to the F.A.A. Boston Logan International Airport had 54 delays and Kennedy International Airport had 62 as of 2 p.m., according to FlightAware data. Delays slowly increased throughout the afternoon.
Ms. Diaz warned that delays in one area could affect travelers in other regions.
“With flights, it’s like it’s a ripple effect,” Ms. Diaz said. But she was hopeful that it could be cleared up by Sunday, which is projected to be the busiest travel day of the week as people return home.
Millions of Americans have traveled already this Thanksgiving week. About 2.7 million travelers went through T.S.A. airport security checkpoints on Wednesday, just below the agency’s expectations from last week. Almost 2.7 million people also came through T.S.A. on Tuesday.
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