Northeast deals with storm bringing rains, wind, flooding threat, snow accumulations inland

A slow-moving storm churned through the Northeast early Tuesday, bringing heavy rains and strong wind to coastal areas, at least half a foot of heavy, wet snow inland and a wintry mix to the New England states.

The storm made for a slippery Tuesday morning commute in parts of Massachusetts, where state police responded to numerous crashes and spinouts caused by icy roads, some involving their own cruisers. New Hampshire awoke to light snow, freezing rain and sleet.

New Jersey dealt with a soaking rain and the threat of coastal flooding from morning and midday high tides. Worse conditions were expected as the storm winds up later Tuesday, and into Wednesday in northern areas.

At least 2 inches of rain is forecast for southern New England, where flood advisories are in effect in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Some coastal areas also are under wind advisories, with 50 mile-per-hour gusts possible.

"There is a threat of sleet and freezing rain that could make for hazardous driving conditions for the morning commute," said Benjamin Sipprell, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Taunton, Massachusetts. "But it's that 1 p.m. time frame that we are most concerned about with heavy rain and winds, and also the heaviest snow ," he said.

Snowfall is expected to be minimal along the Interstate 95 corridor from Philadelphia to Boston, but winter storm watches and warnings have been issued for inland parts of Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts and northern New England.

Some higher elevations could get 2 feet of snow through Thursday.

In Massachusetts, the storm is expected to bring mostly rain and strong winds to the eastern part of the state, but some parts of western Massachusetts could see 6 or more inches of snow on Tuesday.

Other areas, including New York's Catskills and Adirondacks, could get up to 2 feet of snow through Thursday before the plodding storm takes its leave.

The heavy, wet snow and gusty winds could combine to bring down tree limbs and power lines, causing outages.

New Hampshire is expecting a mix of rain, snow and sleet. Power companies were making preparations for the storm, which comes less than two weeks after nasty Thanksgiving weather knocked out electricity to more than 200,000 people.

___

Associated Press writers Bob Salsberg in Boston and Rik Stevens in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.