Wintry mess rolls east as big travel day looms

A major, fast-moving winter storm stalking the East is bringing freezing temperatures, snow and sleet Tuesday from the Appalachians to New England and is on track to create delays at major East Coast airports at peak Thanksgiving travel time.

The system is expected to produce heavy rain along the East Coast from Atlanta through Boston, with sleet and freezing rain farther inland, from the Mid-Atlantic and along most of the Appalachians.

While moving quickly as it rolls out of the nation's midsection, the timing puts it smack on the East Coast as travelers head out for the holiday.

The stretch of wintry weather includes some of the country's busiest airports — New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston and Charlotte, N.C.

Only about 60 flights had been canceled nationwide as of 10 a.m. ET Tuesday, according to FlightStats. A few dozen delays were being reported at a handful of big airports — though nothing that would be considered extreme by winter-weather standards.

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As of midday Tuesday, the National Weather Service had posted winter weather watches, advisories or warnings in 12 states from Tennessee to Maine.

David Reitter shovels snow off the sidewalk in front of his home on Brittany Drive on Nov. 26 in State College, Pa.  Nabil K. Mark, Centre Daily Times, via AP

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Heavy snowfall is possible in western Pennsylvania, western New York and New England. Forecasters predict 5 to 8 inches of snow in Buffalo, more in the northern Adirondacks, and a winter storm watch was posted for central New York state with heavy rain expected in parts of the Hudson Valley.

Some severe weather, with hail, high winds, and even possible tornadoes, also could strike parts of northern Florida and coastal sections of the Carolinas on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center.

A tornado was reported in the Florida Panhandle on Tuesday morning, according to the center.

Some experts predict that this holiday will produce the busiest air travel since 2007, with Airlines for America, the industry's trade and lobbying group, expecting 2.42 million passengers flying on Wednesday.