New England and parts of New York brace for snowstorm

Associated Press, The Associated Press

HARTFORD, Conn. - Residents and emergency management officials in New England and parts of New York prepared for a winter storm predicted to help usher in 2014 with snow and frigid temperatures across much of the region.

Snow was expected to begin falling overnight, promising a messy commute for the first business day of the new year, but the full storm wasn't expected to hit until later Thursday.

As much as 30 centimetres of snow or more was forecast for some areas overnight Thursday into Friday, and temperatures were expected to plummet, the National Weather Service said.

"There will be travel problems," said Hugh Johnson, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Albany, New York. "It will be very cold."

The storm dropped 15 centimetres or more of snow in Illinois on Wednesday, prompting hundreds of flight cancellations into and out of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, according to the aviation tracking website FlightAware.com.

Authorities said the weather may have been a factor in a fatal crash involving a pickup and a bus carrying casino patrons in Indiana. Police said the truck's driver was killed and 15 bus passengers were hurt in the collision on a snow-covered and slushy highway in Rolling Prairie.

Sections of interior southern New England and New York could get up to 30 centimetres of snow. New York City, likely to see up to 18 centimetres, issued a snow alert. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged the city's commuters to leave their cars at home in case major highways are closed for Thursday's evening rush hour.

Near blizzard conditions were forecast for areas along the coast. The mayor of Bridgeport declared a state of emergency for Thursday, imposing special parking regulations so crews can plow.

While the bulk of the snow was expected to hit southern New England and southern sections of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, the prospect of additional snow was welcome news for many areas farther north.

In Maine, where some communities are still recovering from a recent ice storm that cut power to more than 100,000 customers, people seemed prepared for more winter weather.

Kelly St. Denis, of Auburn, went skiing Wednesday at the Sunday River ski area with family and friends. She said it's been cold but the skiing has been good.

"Hey, it's winter in Maine," she said. "We go with it."