Snow across the Northeast

Tractors tackle the snow early Tuesday in Peterborough, New Hampshire

Pacific winter storm drenches southern California

In this story: High tide flood predicted Heavy rain in California RELATED STORIES

(CNN) -- A major snowstorm traveling on the strength of a howling nor'easter crept into New England overnight Monday into Tuesday morning, but the storm didn't pack the punch officials had expected.

"The storm has arrived -- finally," said Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

FLIGHT INFORMATION Delta passengers should call 800-325-1999 Northwest passengers should call 800-441-1818 or visit nwa.com Continental passengers should visit continental.com    VIDEO CNN's Skip Loescher reviews the weather across the Northeast Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   AUDIO New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani talks about the storm at a Monday news conference 1.7MB/1 min. 21 sec. AIFF or WAV sound    RESOURCES Find out how it can be 38 degrees and snowing, prepare your home and car for the cold and know how winter can affect your health, in CNN.com's Winter Weather In-Depth Special   Cities with airports affected by the storm    STORM WARNINGS National Weather Service winter storm warnings   ALSO Don't count on royal treatment when flights get canceled, delayed    CNN WEBCAM Live images of Times Square, New York    MESSAGE BOARD Extreme weather

"And the risks that we have feared all day are still on the table," he said. "The potential power outages, the coastal flooding from the astronomically high tides over the next two days, these haven't gone away."

After a weekend spent teasing Northeastern residents, the nor'easter formed off the upper Atlantic coast Monday, dropping heavy snow across inland sections of Connecticut, Massachusetts and eastern New York and causing airlines to cancel hundreds of flights, although New York airports remained open.

New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Tuesday that no state of emergency would be declared to cope with the milder-than-expected snowstorm hitting New York City. But the storm was disrupting travel throughout much of the Northeast.

"We'll see a real big increase in snowfall ... and blizzard or near-blizzard conditions throughout the region," National Weather Service forecaster Butch Roberts said. "Visibility will be near zero, and there will be whiteout conditions."

Driving proved a daunting option in much of New England, where many roads were best described as treacherous. The speed limit on the Massachusetts Turnpike was dropped to 40 mph, but officials expected it to remain open.

"It's still snowing. The heaviest I've seen so far is 16-17 inches in Upstate New York," Wes Junker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said early Tuesday.

Albany, New York, had a foot of snow, Boston had around 3 inches, and New York's Central Park Zoo had 2 inches by 11 p.m. Monday, he said.

A mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain pelted the Middle Atlantic and New England states through the early morning hours Tuesday.

High tide flood predicted

National Weather Service forecasters said the nor'easter will prompt coastal flood warnings as dangerously high winds and waves threaten shorelines from New England south to New York and New Jersey.

Inland portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and eastern New York were getting the heaviest snowfall.

Western and Central Massachusetts residents were told to expect 15 inches to 30 inches of snow by Wednesday morning.

In sections of Worcester County, 18 inches had already fallen Monday night. Whiteout blizzard conditions were expected for Essex County, near Massachusetts' border with New Hampshire.

Yukari Kobo, 19, left, and Noako Kotake, 19, center, sleep at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Monday after their flight to Louisville, Kentucky, was cancelled

Power lines in Norfolk were a concern, made vulnerable by heavy winds, coats of ice and falling limbs.

High tide at around 7:30 a.m. is expected to erode beaches along the East Coast, said Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts emergency operations center in Boston.

By tonight, the nor'easter is expected to move from New York south to New Jersey, where it was not clear what form the precipitation would take.

Heavy rain in California

Across the continent, a pounding Pacific winter storm dumped up to 13 inches of rain along the foothills and mountains of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

The heavy rains will dump another 5-10 inches of rain on those areas before moving slowly south on Tuesday to the Los Angeles Basin and San Diego.

"Southern California doesn't get this type of rain," said Todd Morris, meteorologist in charge of the Los Angeles-area Weather Forecast Office in Oxnard. By Wednesday, the Los Angeles area could pick up 5 to 10 inches of rain in the mountain areas, and 2 to 5 inches in the low-lying regions, he said.

"When the heavy rain comes to Los Angeles, we will watch carefully for widespread urban flooding," Morris said. Melting snow in the mountains will heighten the flood risk, he said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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National Warnings Area
National Weather Service
NYS Emergency Management
National Snow and Ice Data Center
Climate Prediction Center, Expert Assessments

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