Thanksgiving winter storm leaves 400,000 without power on the East Coast

More than 400,000 people were without power on Thanksgiving Day as a result of a winter storm that ripped down the East Coast on Wednesday night.

The storm dumped a foot of snow in high-elevation areas of the Northeast. Accumulations continued into Thursday afternoon in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and New England.

By midafternoon, the dividing line between rainfall and snowfall largely followed Interstate 95, the major artery between Boston and Washington, and points south.

Several inches of snow fell in many areas west of I-95. The mix leaned toward rain and light snow east of the interstate.

AAA estimated that 41.3 million people were expected to be making Thanksgiving road trips from Wednesday through Sunday, 4.3 percent more than last year.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie declared a precautionary state of emergency and sent more than 1,900 vehicles to plow and treat roads, Time reported. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo restricted commercial traffic along I-84 and other parts of the New York State Thruway.

Nearly 20 million people in the Northeast remained under winter storm warnings Thursday evening.

Some travelers tried to beat the storm by flying earlier. The snow also hit air travel, primarily on Wednesday, one of the busiest travel days of the year, with the inevitable knock-on effects as travelers scrambled to get to their holiday destinations.

More than 4,500 flights were delayed and over 700 canceled. Airlines tried to be helpful by waiving rebooking fees, but many flights already had been filled and fewer flights are always scheduled on Thanksgiving Day, giving the airlines less opportunity to accommodate.

“The storm will have a major impact nationwide to air travel, as the ripple effect from delays and cancellations in the Northeast hubs impacts the rest of the country,” said CNN senior meteorologist Dave Hennen.

“Expect very long delays, in some cases averaging three to six hours for major airports in D.C., Philadelphia, New York and Boston, which will be impacted by a combination of heavy rain, snow and wind,” Mr. Hennen said.