NEW YORK – As Thanksgiving travelers hit the road, a powerful early-season snowstorm over the Northeast caused travel delays and disruptions.

More than a foot of snow fell in parts of Upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania, according to the FOX Forecast Center. High Point, New Jersey reported 8 inches of snow, while 19 inches of snow fell in Cortez, Pennsylvania and 17.1 inches on the ground in Franklin, New York.

Traffic along Interstate 84 near Scranton, Pennsylvania, came to a standstill Friday morning as heavy snow blanketed the roads and reduced visibility.

Winter weather put a halt to air traffic at Greater Binghamton Airport in Johnson City, New York. Delays and cancellations were also reported at other major airport hubs in New York, Boston and Washington.

Weather observation sites in both Wilkes Barre and Binghamton reported some of the heaviest snowfall rates on record in November, causing extensive power outages.

In New York and Pennsylvania, more than 125,000 power outages were reported due to falling trees.

Local utilities promised that the majority of outages would be restored by the end of the weekend.

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Snow levels were expected to remain high enough that only the highest terrain would receive significant snow. Cities like Boston and Portland, Maine, remained all rain.

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The Federal Aviation Administration reported plane delays of between 1 and 2 hours in many Northeast cities, including at Boston’s Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport, New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport and nearby Newark International Airport.

Delays were expected to improve on Saturday; However, the gusty winds and remaining precipitation would likely still cause some travel delays.

The precipitation is expected to help alleviate some of the record-breaking drought conditions and reduce drought wildfire threat plaguing the region. More than 12 inches of snow has been reported in the area around the deadly Jennings Creek Fire that is smoldering along the New Jersey-New York border, according to the FOX Forecast Center.

Behind this storm system, the coldest air of the season will move south from Canada in the days after Thanksgiving and early December. Much of the country will experience below-average temperatures as travelers head home, according to the FOX Forecast Center.

Original article source: The Northeast is being hit by snow and beneficial rain as major airport hubs face travel delays