First major winter storm of 2014

A pedestrian uses his cross-country skies on 58th Street during his morning commute, Jan. 3, 2014.

New York City public schools were closed Friday after up to eight inches of snow fell by morning in the first snowstorm of the winter.

New York

New York City Firefighters dig out of their firehouse in Brooklyn, N.Y., following a snow storm that left up to eight inches of snow, Jan. 3, 2014.

New York

A man and his dog contend with blowing snow in Brooklyn, Jan. 3, 2014.

New York

Two people dressed as Disney characters talk under falling snow in Times Square, in New York, Jan. 2, 2014.

The storm is expected to bring snow, stiff winds and punishing cold into the Northeast.

Scituate, Mass.

A tattered flag flies by a flooded yard along the shore in Scituate, Mass., Jan. 3, 2014.

A blustering winter storm that dropped nearly two feet of snow just north of Boston, shut down major highways in New York and Pennsylvania and forced U.S. airlines to cancel thousands of flights nationwide menaced the Northeast on Friday with howling winds and frigid temperatures.

New York

Pedestrians pass along a walkway under falling snow on the Brooklyn Bridge, Jan. 3, 2014.

New York

A man uses a snow blower to clear a path near an apartment complex in the Queens borough of New York, Jan. 3, 2014.

New York

People walk through a park on the waterfront in Brooklyn near the Manhattan Bridge during a winter storm in New York, Jan. 2, 2014.

Boston

Tubers slide down the "Monster Sled" adjacent to the left field wall as snow falls at Fenway Park in Boston, Jan. 2, 2014.

New York

A child makes a snow angel in Times Square, Jan. 2, 2014.

New York

Visitors enjoy the snow in Times Square in New York, Jan. 2, 2014.

New York

Visitors enjoy the snow in Times Square in New York, Jan. 2, 2014.

Albany

A pedestrian walks through morning snow, in Albany, N.Y., Jan. 2, 2014.

Boston

Two-month-old Jack Hsi takes a nap sheltered in his baby carrier while snow falls in Boston, Jan. 2, 2014.

Albany

A pedestrian walks in the snow in Albany, N.Y., Jan. 2, 2014.

Up to five inches of snow had fallen in eastern New York early Thursday, but the National Weather Service said some areas from Buffalo to Albany could get up to 12 inches by the time the storm subsides on Friday.

Chicago

Travelers walk thorough Terminal 3 after they arrived at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Jan. 2, 2014.

Carmel, Ind

Naoom Haimson walks his dog, Molly, on the snow covered Monon Trail in Carmel, Ind., Jan. 2, 2014.

Chicago

A screen displays flight information at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Jan. 2, 2014.

Chicago

Travelers walk to a train station in the economic parking lot at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Jan. 2, 2014.

Albany

A man bikes through the snow in Albany, N.Y., Jan. 2, 2014.

Chicago

A traveler walks in the economic parking lot at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Jan. 2, 2014.

Chicago

A man walks his dog along the Chicago River as the snow continues to accumulate in Chicago, Jan. 2, 2014.

Chicago

A Frontier airplane waits for passengers at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Jan. 2, 2014.

Albany

A pedestrian walks through morning snow, in Albany, N.Y., Jan. 2, 2014.

Albany

A pedestrian walks through the snow outside the state Capitol, in Albany, N.Y., Jan. 2, 2014.

Chicago

Cars are covered by snow in a parking lot at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Jan. 2, 2014.

Chicago

Commuters drive on snowy road in Chicago, Jan. 2, 2014.

Chicago

Cars are covered by snow in a rental car parking lot at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Jan. 2, 2014.

Chicago

Morning commuters walk against blowing snow in Chicago, Jan. 2, 2014, in Chicago.

Chicago

A park crew clears the snow around Annish Kapoor's stainless steel Cloud Gate sculpture at Millennium Park, as snow continues to accumulate in downtown Chicago, Jan. 2, 2014.

Chicago

A snowboarder is seen in Humboldt Park in Chicago, Jan. 2, 2014

Pittsburgh

Snow falls in the Cultural District of downtown Pittsburgh during evening rush hour, Jan. 2, 2014.

Portland, Me.

A vehicle sits upside-down after spinning out of control on Interstate 295 during a snowstorm in Portland, Maine, Jan. 2, 2014. There were multiple report of spin-offs and roll-overs on Maine highways during the latest storm to hit the Northeast.

Philadelphia

A jack-knifed tractor-trailer caused the closure of a stretch of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia in heavy snow, Jan. 3, 2014.

Colonie, N.Y.

Lori Van Buren/The Albany Times Union/AP

A New York State Trooper assists a driver whose car slipped off the road on Interstate 87 northbound during a snow storm , in Colonie, N.Y., Jan. 2, 2014.

New York

Snow accumulates on an NYPD officer in Times Square, Jan. 2, 2014, in New York.

New York

A man plows snow during a winter storm in lower Manhattan, Jan. 2, 2014.

New York

Taxis drive across the Brooklyn Bridge during a winter storm in New York, late Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014.

New York City

"I love New York 2.1.14" is carved into the snow during a winter storm, in lower Manhattan, Jan. 2, 2014.