have parka, will travel

It's only 16 days until I'm there. No telling on whether I'll be shovelling the stuff, though.

A man shovels a sidewalk this morning's snow storm, on the East side of Manhattan
Fast-Moving Winter Storm Turns Northeast White
A "vigorous" winter storm dumped fat, wet snowflakes throughout parts of the Northeast during the early morning commute, but the storm moved quickly out of the New York City region, giving way to sunshine, while New England continued to see snowy conditions in the afternoon.

Cars skidded into snow banks that formed quickly along major highways in the New York area, while others crawled along. Many school districts canceled classes for the day for the first real snow storm of the season for some parts of the Northeast. Airlines were reporting some delays on flights in and out of New York, Chicago and Boston, and advised passengers to check on their flights before heading to the airport.

The National Weather Service said the "vigorous but progressive winter storm" came in from the eastern Great Lakes, raking the Ohio Valley and western Pennsylvania with snow early this morning. It was expected to merge with another one off the Virginia coast later in the day.

Meteorologists said the region would see a total of 5 to 7 inches of snow for the day, less to the east than to the west. On Long Island, for instance, the snow turned to rain early this morning.