Massive winter storm covers Midwest, makes path toward Northeast

NEW YORK - A slow-moving winter storm is headed to the Northeast just a week after the first big snowstorm of the season covered New York and brought parts of New England to a near halt.

The National Weather Service predicts southern Vermont could see the first flakes from the slow-moving storm at about 3 a.m. Snow should begin falling after daylight in Concord, New Hampshire. And by mid-morning, the storm could reach Portland, Maine.

Nashua, New Hampshire - still reeling from 33 inches of snow in last week's storm - is in the band expected to get hit hardest. Gov. Maggie Hassan says the Emergency Operations Center will open Monday morning and monitor the state's weather. She urged residents to plan ahead for the workday commute.

The storm has already blanketed a large swath of the Plains and Midwest in snow Sunday, forcing the cancellation of roughly 2,000 flights, making roads treacherous and forcing some people to rethink their plans to attend Super Bowl parties.

Blizzard conditions developed in Chicago - where more than a foot had fallen by evening - and other Midwest locales as the system slowly crept eastward into Pennsylvania and western New York state. Parts of New England still digging out from a storm early last week were readying for yet another round of snow to arrive Sunday and last through Monday.

Here's the outlook:

The storm

The snowstorm was expected to be the most far-reaching of the season to date, stretching from Nebraska to Maine, according to the National Weather Service.

Forecasters also said the storm was moving unusually slowly, meaning accumulations of between 10 to 16 inches of snow are possible for parts of northern Illinois, Indiana and northwest Ohio. Similar amounts of snow are expected for the Northeast later Sunday and throughout Monday.

"It's not wise to travel, unless you have an emergency," said David Beachler a National Weather Service meteorologist in the Chicago area.

Craig Owens, an English professor at Drake University, was one of the many Midwest residents who spent the morning shoveling their driveways.

"I'm not going to make it the gym anyway, so I've got to get a workout somehow," said Owens, whose home in Des Moines, Iowa, got about 10 inches of snow.

In New York City, which was largely spared last week's blizzard, should start seeing snow between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., according to CBS station WCBS' meteorologist Vanessa Murdock. The snow will become steady from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. before transitioning to a wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain, potentially leaving roads treacherous for the morning commute.

Snow accumulations of 4 to 8 inches are forecast for Monday in the city, and slightly more in the northern suburbs, the National Weather Service said.

A winter storm warning was in effect for New York City starting at 7 p.m. Sunday and was expected to remain in effect until Monday evening. Mayor Bill de Blasio said residents should be ready for a snowy and icy commute.

De Blasio said he anticipates that New York City schools will open Monday, but a final decision has not yet been made.

"This is traditionally within the manageable level of snow," he added.

Parts of New England, still recovering from a blizzard early last week that buried the region in snow, could get between 8 and 14 inches of snow and parts of western Massachusetts and Connecticut could get as much as 16 inches. Southern Vermont was expected to get its first flakes around 3 a.m. Monday, and snow should start falling in Concord, New Hampshire, and Portland, Maine, a few hours later.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ordered a delayed opening for state offices for Monday's winter storm.

Boston schools were scheduled to be closed Monday.

CBS station WBZ's Terry Eliasen is forecasting that the heaviest snow there will fall between 7 a.m. and noon on Monday.

Philadelphia International Airport officials said they were gearing up to deal with the winter storm expected overnight, including pre-treating runways with chemicals.

Travel and outages

More than 1,950 flights were canceled in the Midwest, the vast majority of which were in or out of Chicago's two airports.

Chicago's Department of Aviation said about 1,300 departing flights were canceled from O'Hare International Airport and 300 at Midway International Airport. At Detroit Metropolitan Airport, more than 350 departing flights were canceled, and more delayed. About 20 flights were canceled from Omaha's Eppley Airfield.

The winds - gusts up to 45 mph were expected in the Chicago area - made road travel tricky too. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner cautioned against any travel and put state agencies on alert.

The Illinois Department of Transportation dispatched 350 trucks to clear and salt Chicago-area roadways ahead of Monday's morning rush hour, and the city said late Sunday that it was sending out 150 more pieces of heavy equipment for road work.

The weather led to power outages, including roughly 12,000 ComEd customers in Illinois on Sunday evening, most of them in Chicago's Cook County and suburban Will County. The weather cut power to nearly 8,000 northern Indiana homes and businesses.

Chicago Public Schools announced Sunday night that the next day's classes were canceled due to the danger for children traveling to schools. The district, the nation's third largest, said it expected that classes would resume Tuesday.

In Nebraska, a truck driver and a 62-year-old woman were killed in separate traffic accidents on snowy roads.

Super Bowl party spoiler?

The most intense period of snow in the Midwest was expected to hit Sunday evening, right around game time, meaning the roads could be treacherous for those heading to Super Bowl parties. Potential wind gusts of up to 40 mph were expected, so drivers could face terrible visibility and snarling snow drifts.

Several of the Chicago area's top tourist attractions closed early Sunday because of the weather, including the Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium and Brookfield Zoo.

The city's pizzerias, though, were expecting heavy demand for deliveries during the game. And bars hosting Super Bowl parties said they wouldn't let the weather spoil their plans.

Kathi Kreger, manager at Brendan's Pub, a Patriots' bar on the city's North Side, said locals would still trudge through the snow for the festivities.

"We're used to this," she said.

In the southeastern Wisconsin city of New Berlin, meanwhile, sports bar Matty's Bar & Grill was preparing for a strong turnout, despite the weather.

"Here in Wisconsin, with the snow, we're pretty used to it," general manager Mark Lombardo said. "Lots of folks have the big four-wheel trucks. The snow doesn't really slow them down."

Snow plows destroyed

The small town of Henniker, New Hampshire, will have to find a way to clear the snow without the majority of its plows. Nearly its entire fleet of snow-clearing equipment - five plows and a road grader - was destroyed in a fire on Friday night at a garage.

"This puts the town in a bad spot," Henniker Fire Chief Steve Burritt told the Concord Monitor newspaper. "The town has a serious problem for snow removal. Not that there isn't a solution, but it's going to be a challenge."

Investigators said the fire apparently originated in the engine of one of the dump trucks used as snow plows and spread. Officials estimate the damage could exceed $1 million.

The only heavy equipment spared - two pickup trucks and a front-end loader - was parked outside the garage. No injuries were reported.