Snow intensifies ahead of evening commute as storm hits US Northeast

NEW YORK - The second winter storm in a week blew into New York and surrounding states on Wednesday, with intensifying snowfall that delayed or canceled flights and threatened to snarl the evening rush hour as thousands remained without power from the last nor'easter.

Between 8 and 12 inches (20 and 30 cm) of wet, heavy snow, some of it accompanied by thunder and lightning, were forecast for New York City and surrounding New Jersey and Connecticut suburbs through Thursday morning.

Wind gusts could create "near-whiteout conditions" for commuters, the National Weather Service said.

The service bumped up its snowfall estimates on Wednesday morning, with up to 2 feet (60 cm) expected in some inland parts of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The heaviest snow was expected in Maine, where up to 18 inches was possible.

The storm will spread with varying degrees of intensity across the Northeast, from western Pennsylvania up into New England, the service said.

Around half of all scheduled flights were canceled at the three major airports serving New York City, according to the tracking service FlightAware. The website said 9,587 flights had been delayed and 3,076 canceled, most of them in the Northeast, as of 4:30 pm (2130 GMT).