Snow has started falling in New York City, and the National Weather Service projects a total snowfall of 2 to 4 inches in the region.
The snow started falling just before noon Saturday and is expected to continue until late evening.
The weather service says snow will be heaviest in northern parts of Manhattan and the Bronx.
About 1 to 3 inches of snow are forecast for Long Island and about 3 to 5 inches for the lower Hudson Valley.
A snowfall of 2 to 4 inches is also forecast for Albany and 1 to 3 inches in Buffalo and Rochester.
Winter weather advisories issued by the National Weather Service were in effect for northern and central areas of New Jersey, where anywhere from 1 to 5 inches of snow was expected. Forecasters said northern areas will likely see all snow, while central areas will see a mix of snow, rain and sleet.
Southern Jersey was expected to mostly see rain from the storm, though an inch or so of slushy accumulation was possible in some areas.
“Overall, it’s going as expected so far,” said Mitchell Gaines, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, N.J. He said as much as 2 inches of snow was being reported in northern areas by early Saturday afternoon, while the rest of the state was seeing “a real cold rain.”
Authorities said the storm would likely cause poor travel conditions in some areas, so drivers were being urged to slow down and allow extra travel time. Road crews spent most of Saturday morning pre-treating highways and other major roadways with salt, and officials said they felt ready for whatever the storm brought.
Several minor accidents and spinouts had been occurred in northern Jersey by early Saturday afternoon, but no major problems were being reported.
To help travelers, New Jersey Transit was cross-honoring tickets system-wide. However, they also reminded riders that many area rail lines are still operating on modified schedules due to damage from Superstorm Sandy.
As of early Saturday afternoon, the storm was not affecting travel at Newark Liberty International Airport or at Kennedy and LaGuardia airports in New York City. But since conditions were expected to deteriorate as the day progressed, travelers were being urged to contact their airlines before heading to the airport.