N.J. Gov. Christie declares state of emergency as snow disrupts air, road travel

Snow is falling on the city and its western suburbs - accompanied by thunder at one point - snarling air and road travel on what is one of the busiest getaway days of the year.

The heaviest band of snow and precipitation is also hitting northwestern parts of New Jersey hard. With some places expected to get 6 to 10 inches and lots of travel on New Jersey's busy highways, Gov. Chris Christie declared a state of emergency shortly after 2 p.m.

Some schools decided to close earlier than scheduled, including the North Penn and Hatboro-Horsham districts in Montgomery County, giving students a jump start to the Thanksgiving break.

As of 6 p.m., 171 flights to or from Philadelphia International Airport have been canceled. In addition, the FAA has issued a ground delay program for flights to Philadelphia because of the low cloud cover.

About 480 flights have been canceled to or from airports in the Northeast, including Liberty International Airport in Newark, New York's LaGuardia and JFK Airports, Boston's Logan Airport and Reagan International in Washington.

As the snow fell in the city and its western suburbs, road conditions deteriorated and officials report accidents scattered around the region.

The heaviest snowfalls were predicted for north and west of the city, and some residents of Chester and Montgomery Counties also reported hearing thunder and lightning after the storm started.

Here's the latest of what you need to know for travel today:

Planes

The FAA has issued a ground delay program averaging 1 hour 47 minutes for flights destined for Philadelphia. According to www.flightaware.com, 84 flights to Philadelphia International Airport and 87 from it have been canceled. An airport spokeswoman said most of the canceled flights are shuttle or short hop flights. Check your airline or www.phl.org for flight status.

Trains

Amtrak: There are reports of delayed trains but no disruptions of service. Amtrak has added trains on the Northeast Corridor to handle the additional passenger load. Remember, you need photo ID to purchase Amtrak tickets. www.amtrak.com

SEPTA: Was operating hourly shuttle buses in place of trains on the Airport Regional Rail Line between Eastwick Station and the airport. The service adjustment, which affected travel in both directions, was restored before 10 p.m. Passengers may expect delays. www.septa.org

PATCO: Is operating an adjusted departure schedule from 16th and Locust Streets. No major problems reported as of 6 p.m. www.ridepatco.org

NJ Transit: Is running train service on delays of 10 to 15 minutes, systemwide. No major disruptions were reported as of 6 p.m. www.njtransit.com

Automobiles

Roadways are wet or slushy and motorists are advised to slow down drive with caution. Accidents have been reported on both the New Jersey Turnpike northbound between Exits 7A and 8 and on the Pennsylvania Turnpike between the Morgantown and Reading exits. There are a number of accidents on secondary roads. There are no reports of serious injury.

Earlier, Montgomery County reported a surge of car accidents on local roads between 10 and 10:30 a.m., just as freezing rain was turning into snow. At least 13 accidents were reported, primarily in the northern half of Montgomery County, according to the county's online incident database.

By rush hour, more than 100 car wrecks had been reported on roads in Bucks County, according to CBS Philly.

New Jersey State Police reported troopers responded to 73 crashes and assisted 96 motorists around the state during the morning. By about 5 p.m., more than 200 accidents had been reported on state police-supervised roads, police said.

And Walking

The Ben Franklin Bridge's walkway was closed around noon.