Nor'easter clobbers East Coast delivering heavy snow, rain, wind from Pennsylvania to Maine

For the second time in less than a week, a storm rolled into the Northeast with wet, heavy snow Wednesday, grounding flights, closing schools and bringing another round of power outages to a corner of the country still recovering from the previous blast of winter.

The nor'easter knocked out electricity to hundreds of thousands of customers and produced "thundersnow" as it made its way up the coast, with flashes of lightning and booming thunder from the Philadelphia area to New York City. A New Jersey middle school teacher was struck by lightning but survived.

An 88-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in upstate New York, the Suffern Fire Department confirmed.

Officials urged people to stay off the roads.

"It's kind of awful," said New York University student Alessa Raiford, who put two layers of clothing on a pug named Jengo before taking him for a walk in slushy, sloppy Manhattan, where rain gave way to wet snow in the afternoon. "I'd rather that it be full-on snowing than rain and slush. It just makes it difficult."

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning into Thursday morning from the Philadelphia area through most of New England.

The storm unloaded snow at a rate of 2 or 3 inches an hour, with some places in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut getting well over a foot by Wednesday night. Butler, New Jersey, got 22 inches, Sloatsburg, New York, 23 inches and Newtown, Connecticut, 14 inches.

More than 2,600 flights across the region -- about 1,900 in the New York metro area alone -- were canceled.

The storm wasn't predicted to be as severe as the nor'easter that toppled trees, inundated coastal communities and caused more than 2 million power outages from Virginia to Maine last Friday.

Follow along with winter storm updates below. All times Eastern.

Storm pivoting as it moves over New England

12:25 a.m.: The nor'easter is pivoting, wrapping around as it occludes around the south of New England, the National Weather Service tweeted. Moderate to heavy snow is expected to move across southern New England from 2 to 5 a.m., staying the longest over eastern and northeaster New England, the National Weather Service tweeted.

Roughly 3 feet of storm surge was observed in Boston and Nantucket as high tide approaches, and 20-foot waves were recorded off Cape Ann. High tide is expected 3 and 5 a.m.

The second nor'easter in less than a week knocked out power to more than 57,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts Wednesday night, CBS Boston reports.

Storm-related death reported

11:30 p.m.: An 88-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in her driveway in Suffern, New York, the Suffern Police Department confirmed to CBS News. Suffern is located in upstate Rockland, County, New York.

The National Weather Service said that as of 9 p.m., the snow had ended across the lower Hudson Valley, New York City and New Jersey. Heavy snow is moving across southern Connecticut and Long Island.

In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy said 300,000 residents were without power after another nor'easter dumped up to a foot or more of snow across the state. Murphy declared a state of emergency.

City of Philadelphia lifts snow emergency

10:20 p.m.: The City of Philadelphia has lifted the snow emergency Wednesday night.

Officials say residents can now park along the snow emergency route, CBS Philadelphia reports.

"Cars left on Snow Emergency routes between 8 a.m. through 9 p.m. today were likely relocated. If your car was moved, call 215-686-SNOW to find it. Do not call 911," said city officials.

PARKING: The Philadelphia Parking Authority will honor its $5 per day rate for cars parked in Center City garages prior to 9 p.m. Any cars parked after 9 p.m. are back to regular rates.

GOVERNMENT OFFICES: All City of Philadelphia municipal government offices will open during normal business hours on Thursday, March 8. The courts will also be open.

SNOW REMOVAL: Even though the snow emergency has been lifted, snow removal operations are ongoing.

"While the city's primary roads are generally passable, plows are still being used to widen them. Secondary, tertiary and residential streets will be the main focus of current plowing," officials said.

TRASH COLLECTION: Residents whose trash is normally picked up Wednesday, will have their trash collected Thursday. Thursday's pickups will be made Friday; Friday's pickups will be made Saturday.

NYC's Metro-North commuter railroad suspends service on some lines

9:45 p.m.: Amtrak canceled some train service, and commuter trains in Philadelphia and New Jersey were put on an abbreviated schedule.

New York City's Metro-North commuter railroad suspended service on lines connecting the city to the suburbs and Connecticut because of downed trees, and the Long Island Rail Road also was experiencing delays.

University basketball team helps push stuck bus in Philly

8:40 p.m.: Members of the Northeastern University women's basketball team pushed their bus back on course after it was stuck in the snow outside a practice facility in Philadelphia.

The Huskies were in the city to compete in the 2018 CAA Women's Basketball Tournament.

The team posted a video of the feat on its Twitter account:

Teacher struck by lightning in New Jersey

8:20 p.m.: A teacher was struck by lightning during Wednesday's powerful storm, police said.

It happened at around 2:30 p.m. at Manchester Township Middle School, CBS New York reports.

The teacher, 33, was working bus duty and holding umbrella during school dismissal, police said.

The teacher was standing on the sidewalk in front of the school with other staffers when a bolt of lightning hit the umbrella, police said.

She was taken to the school nurse's office while emergency responders arrived.

Incredibly, she wasn't seriously injured.

She complained of tingling in her and arm, police said.

She was taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center conscious and alert. Her injuries are not considered life-threatening.

Commuter headaches mount in New Jersey

7:30 p.m.: CBS New York reporter Meg Baker caught this scene on New Jersey Route 24 east ramp.

Cars are shown stuck and others are spinning out, she writes:

Video shows messy commutes on Interstate 280 in N.J.

7:01 p.m.: CBS New York reporter Valerie Castro posted a video on Twitter showing disastrous conditions on Interstate 280 heading west near East Orange, New Jersey.

She wrote: "total mess!"

Take a look below:

Connecticut governor updates media about storm response

6:15 p.m.: Gov. Dannel P. Malloy says state agencies and crews are working together. Central and western Connecticut will see the heaviest snow -- the snowfall should reduce around 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. and into the early morning.

There have been at least 6,300 power outages in the region -- mostly in the southwestern part of the state.

The governor urges residents to not bring outdoor heating systems indoors because of the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Malloy enacted a ban earlier in the day for tractor-trailers on the roadways to prevent injuries and any traffic snarls during the nor'easter.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy holds press conference

5:45 p.m.: Gov. Malloy is to brief reporters about the state's response to the winter storm.

The press conference is expected to begin around 6 p.m at the Emergency Operations Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

Boston neighborhood still flooded even before 2nd storm hits

5:15 p.m.: Joesph Soares was not going to let a little water stop his kids from getting to school.

His neighborhood, right on the Duxbury-Marshfield line in Massachusetts, has been flooded since Friday when the first nor'easter hit. By Wednesday, he was getting creative.

Soares used a paddle board to bring his three kids to the bus stop, CBS Boston reports.

"I've been bringing them one at a time," said Soares.

"My wife is a nurse a pediatric nurse and she has to get to work, I've been bringing her on the paddle board also."

Breaches in the seawall along towns on the South Shore have left numerous neighborhoods in similar positions, even before Wednesday's snowstorm.

"We have massive, massive destruction to our infrastructure here, this is a huge problem for the town," said Duxbury Town Manager René Read.

On Tuesday, crews were using heavy machinery to haul boulders to the beach where the seawall had collapsed as a temporary solution.

Duxbury resident Susan Nicols said she is devastated. "Never thought this would happen because we're so much higher than everyone else, but because of the wall we had no control," she explained.

Soares said, "There's a real fear of people absolutely losing their house especially up on Cable Hill ... our prayers are with them."

Eventually, the entire seawall will need to be replaced. The town hopes to have flood waters pumped out of the area by Friday.

What is "thundersnow"? CBS New York explains

4:50 p.m.: People across the tri-state area were rattled by rare thundersnow during the powerful nor'easter that hit the area Wednesday.

"Thundersnow is a thunderstorm with snow instead of rain. So here's the deal, in order to get a thunderstorm, you have to have really fast lift," CBS New York's meteorologist Lonnie Quinn explained. "Air's got to be rushing up into the atmosphere. The faster it goes up, the faster that precipitation comes down."

"Thundersnow is the fastest Mother Nature can throw the snow out of the clouds," Quinn added.

To learn more, watch the video above.

"The worst is yet to come"

3:58 p.m.: Whiteout conditions were making driving hazardous in eastern Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey, CBS News correspondent Nikki Battiste reports.

"The worst is yet to come," New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy told reporters in the snow. "Accumulations clearly double-digit inches up around here."

Many areas will get more than a foot of snow. Parts of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania could see up to 18 inches.

This round of snow is heavier and wetter than Friday's, so it could snap trees and power lines already weakened by last week's storm.

"Not liking it," one man said. "Not liking it at all. Hope the wires stay up, power stays on. It was a rough weekend."

Sparks fly when tree branch falls on power lines

3:08 p.m.: A video shows some of the risks motorists face in the aftermath of a storm.

A New York fire district released video from Friday that shows a tree branch falling on power lines over a roadway, causing sparks to fly. A man crossing the road fell from the commotion.

Wind gusts will be a key factor in how much damage Wednesday's storm will cause. They're not expected to be as intense as last week but are expected to be as high as 60 mph.

"Thundersnow" reports as storm slams Northeast

2:27 p.m.: The snowstorm is producing reports of "thundersnow."

Meteorologists and residents are reporting flashes of lightning and booming thunder from the Philadelphia area to New York City. Experts say the unusual phenomenon is caused by shallow layers of rising, unstable air.

The nor'easter is expected to intensify as it moves up the coast, with snowfall rates up to 3 inches per hour. The National Weather Service is warning of a treacherous evening commute.

1,600-plus flights at NYC-area airports canceled

1:51 p.m.: Authorities say over 1,600 flights have been canceled at the New York City metro area's three major airports because of the weather.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that the storm's track has shifted so response efforts will focus on the lower Hudson Valley, New York City and Long Island.

The Democrat says 400 New York National Guard members with snowplows, generators and other equipment are being deployed there.

Cuomo says about 26,000 utility customers in a four-county area north of the city are without power. That includes about 11,400 in Westchester County, which was still reeling from Friday's storm.

Snowfall forecasts range from up to 11 to 18 inches in the city and its northern suburbs to as much as 20 inches in the Schoharie Valley and eastern Catskills.

"This whole neighborhood will be underwater"

12:19 p.m.: Homeowners in one coastal town in Massachusetts are hoping last-ditch repairs to a seawall will prevent the worst, CBS News correspondent DeMarco Morgan reports. More than 300 homes in Duxbury are at risk of being destroyed.

"This whole neighborhood will be underwater -- 100 percent," Duxbury Fire Department Capt. Rob Reardon told Morgan while driving through town.

The seawall was compromised as a result of last week's nor'easter, causing water from the Atlantic to spill into neighborhoods before Wednesday's storm even arrived.

For Robyn Chiminiello, the thought of losing her dream house was almost too much to bear.

"I've worked my whole life for this," she told Morgan. "I've worked really hard for it, and, you know, it's gone in one day. It's devastating, you know, and there's nothing you can do except, you know, hope for the best."

Trucks banned from highways as storm bears down

11:41 a.m.: Officials in at least two states are banning big rigs from major highways and warning other drivers to stay off the roads as the late-winter storm bears down on the Northeast.

Tractor-trailers have been banned on the New York State Thruway from the Syracuse area to New York City. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo says state troopers will ticket any violators.

In Pennsylvania, all commercial vehicles are banned from interstates 380 and 84, while empty straight trucks, double trailers and other types of commercial carriers have been ordered off several other major interstates including 78, 81 and 80. Officials have also reduced speeds to 45 mph.

Motorists are being urged to avoid travel unless it's absolutely necessary.

Mass. gearing up for 2nd potent nor'easter in days

11:34 a.m.: Massachusetts officials are gearing up for the second potent nor'easter in less than week, and anticipating widely different effects around the state.

Gov. Charlie Baker says Wednesday's storm is likely to bring more than a foot of snow to the Berkshires, scattered power outages and "minor to moderate coastal flooding" in communities still recovering from Friday's damaging nor'easter.

State highway officials are warning of treacherous driving conditions through the afternoon and evening hours, with snow falling at a rate of 2-to-3 inches an hour in some areas and causing whiteout conditions.

Boston and coastal communities are expected to get mostly rain. Baker noted that tides are not as astronomically high as at the height of last week's storm, but could still bring additional flooding woes.

Connecticut sends state workers home amid storm

10:27 a.m.: Connecticut state employees are being sent home from work early Wednesday ahead of a storm that's forecast to drop as much as a foot of snow in parts of the state.

Nonessential state workers are being dismissed in staggered phases beginning at noon to reduce the risk for traffic problems as commuters head home from Hartford.

Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy says the idea is to ensure people are off the roads by rush hour, when the snowfall is expected to be at its heaviest.

Nonessential second-shift state employees are being told not to report to work Wednesday evening.

Thousands of flights canceled due to storm

10:14 a.m.: The storm is targeting New York City's three airports, CBS News transportation correspondent Kris Van Cleave reports. More than 40 percent of flights in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey were already canceled by Wednesday morning.

The storm was already disrupting air travel to and from major East Coast hub cities like Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston and New York. More than 2,100 flights were canceled by midmorning, according to FlightAware.

Look for that to impact flights across the country. As a result, airlines are waiving rebooking fees.

Carriers try to cancel flights ahead of the storm. That keeps fliers and planes from getting stuck at airports during the storm and makes it easier to reset service the next day.

On "CBS This Morning," Van Cleave noted that a flight from Newark to Cancun, Mexico, was still expected to depart on time.

Weakened trees pose threat in new storm

9:33 a.m.: A family was inside a house that was almost split in two by a falling tree last week in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, just northwest of Philadelphia, CBS News correspondent Don Dahler reports.

No one was injured, but the house illustrates the dangers that people are facing along the East Coast.

The storm is dropping heavy, wet snow that adds weight to the tops of old trees, which have root systems weakened by last week's storm.

Wind gusts will be a key factor in how much damage Wednesday's storm will cause. They're not expected to be as intense as last week but are expected to be as high as 60 mph.