Snow and freezing rain cause chaos in the Northeast and Midwest as two people are killed, 1,000 flights are canceled and hundreds of schools are closed

  • Winter storm that swept through the Midwest has hit the Northeast Monday
  • Parts of New York and New England were hit with more than six inches of snow 
  • There were numerous crashes on Maine Turnpike with at least two fatalities 
  • Up to six inches fell in Maine and New Hampshire with eight in Vermont
  • Hundreds of schools in Michigan closed after 10 inches over the weekend 
  • More than 1,000 flights were canceled today with 6,500 delays

By Associated Press

Published: 01:05 EST, 12 December 2016 | Updated: 16:06 EST, 12 December 2016

Snow and freezing rain caused chaos on the roads and closed hundreds of schools on Monday as a cross-country snowstorm dumped up to eight inches on the Northeast.

The storm dumped nearly a foot of snow on the ground in areas of the Great Lakes and upper Midwest before dumping around six inches across New York and New England.  

There were numerous crashes on the Maine Turnpike, as well as local roads in Gorham and New Portland, resulting in two fatalities.

The National Weather Services said about three to six inches fell in Maine and New Hampshire while West Brattleboro, Vermont saw eight inches.

Meanwhile hundreds of schools in Michigan closed on Monday after the state was covered by more than 10 inches over the weekend. 

Scroll down for video 

Philip Fitzwater, a city carrier assistant for the United States Postal Service, in Brattleboro, Vermont, which received eight inches, removes the snow off his vehicle before heading out

Get shoveling: Marzell Richmond, 15, shovels off a walk way on Monday in Flint, Michigan after more than 10 inches fell on Sunday, less than a half-inch off the record for the same date

Theron Wilkinson, 13, shovels the sidewalk in front of his parent's business on Main Street during a snow storm on Monday in Brattleboro, Vermont

Snow day! Grant Stopher, 8, sleds on a snow ramp down a hill at Milham Park Golf Club in Kalamazoo, Michigan; hundreds of schools closed in the state

Steven Washington, 9, dives faces first into a fresh pile of snow, taking a break from shoveling his grandmother's driveway after school was called off for a snow day in Flint

En garde! Anthony Green, 9, left, throws a snowball at Eric Babcock, 15, right, in Flint

The National Weather Service had issued winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories for parts of the Great Lakes and the Northeast for the final leg of the storm. 

It's a 'slap of reality' after a mild November, National Weather Service meteorologist Dave Schmidt in La Crosse, Wisconsin, said.

The Chicago area received more than six inches as of Sunday night.

More than 1,000 flights were canceled today, on top of 1,500 at the weekend. There were more than 6,500 delays.

A Delta plane with 70 passengers and crew landed at Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Sunday, but then ended up in snowy grass while it was turning from the runway to a taxiway. No injuries were reported.

The Northeastern United States is bracing for snow on Monday as a winter storm moves east 

There are winter weather advisories throughout most of New England, with the Adirondacks and parts of Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine set to get the worst of the weather

Temperatures are set to dip as low as just five degrees Fahrenheit in far northern Maine 

The Ohio River Valley and Mid-Atlantic regions will see a mix of snow, freezing rain and rain in the overnight hours and through the day on Monday.

'For the rest of the day the best advice is just to stay off the road if you can, and otherwise go slow and give yourself more time to reach your destination,' National Weather Service meteorologist Mark Steinwedel said. 'If you don't have to drive or go somewhere, stay home.'

Temperatures 15 to 30 degrees below average will follow the cold rain and snow in the coming days through much of the Midwest and East.  

A man uses a snow blower to remove snow from the sidewalk on Midland Street in Bay City, Michigan, on Monday as a winter storm pushed eastward

Mike Pacovsky plows a parking lot on the campus of King's College, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, following a snow storm

Brandon Kinstion, 11, Sariah Ruize, 8, and Allison Mohn, 11, works together to clear Brandon and Sariah's grandfather's driveway after Saginaw, Michigan received nearly nine inches

Anthony Harris of Saginaw, clears a neighbor's sidewalk after Saginaw received nearly nine inches of snow. Harris said he routinely shovel's his neighbor's driveways and sidewalks

Messy commute: A vehicle rests in a median ditch after skidding into it on Route 219, in Orchard Park, New York

The National Weather Service said another arctic air mass would spread over the northern Great Plains and Midwest in the next couple of days and then head east.

'After the first true cold shot of the year this past week, much of the northern Plains can expect a more formidable shot of arctic air again this upcoming week,' AccuWeather meteorologist Max Vido said on the website.

High temperatures will be in the single digits F (-17 to -12 C) to just below zero F (-18 C) from the Dakotas through Minnesota and Wisconsin as the cold air grips the region.

As of Monday morning, there were more than 650 cancellations and more than 3,000 delays at airports across the U.S. - mostly in New York, Boston, Washington, DC and Chicago

The winter storm is set to move out of the U.S. on Monday, but colder weather is in store for Tuesday as an arctic blast creeps into the Midwest 

The blast of arctic air will drop temperatures below the average for this season for much of the country 

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