Snow began falling across the state Friday afternoon and continued into the evening. Six to 12 inches is expected in the Philadelphia area and 8 to 14 inches could fall in Pittsburgh, according to forecasters. Central Pennsylvania could get 12 to 18 inches.
In Pittsburgh, parts of several major highways were shut down as snow began to accumulate Friday night. The state Department of Transportation said portions of the Parkway West inbound, the Parkway North outbound and Route 19 in both directions were closed after several accidents.
Also in western Pennsylvania, Allegheny Power was reporting more than 6,800 customers were without power Friday night.
At Philadelphia International Airport, more than 250 flights were canceled from Friday afternoon into Saturday. Other flights were booked as people tried to get out before the snow.
Ronald and Carole Weatherford, of High Point, N.C., were waiting to fly back to Greensboro, N.C., after the book fair they flew up for was canceled. They feared that staying in Philadelphia until Sunday, as they originally planned, could leave them stranded.
The couple didn't want to get stuck in an airport hotel during a trip scheduled to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.
"The weather was very much like this 25 years ago," said Carole Weatherford, noting that it rained, sleeted and snowed on their wedding day, Feb. 2, 1985, in Baltimore.
Spokeswoman Victoria Lupica said the airport had no plans to close. About 400 workers are ready to do snow removal, she said. Shawn Reid, 39, of northeast Philadelphia, was sitting at the airport after his flight to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was overbooked.
Trying to get to a Super Bowl party with friends, he failed in several attempts to find another flight to any city even close to Miami - Tampa, Fort Myers, West Palm Beach, Orlando and even Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
"It was like everything was oversold. Because of the storm, everyone is trying to get out early," said Reid, as he waited for a ride to take him back home. "I'm very depressed."
Pittsburgh International Airport also plans to remain open, Allegheny County Airport Authority spokeswoman JoAnn Jenny said.
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation trucks have been treating major roadways with a salt brine and will begin spreading granular salt when the snow starts to fall.
"We've got more than 2,200 trucks, plows and salt spreaders that are available all around the state," PennDOT spokesman Rich Kirkpatrick said.
The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency said it's in constant communication with counties via electronic message boards and conference calls to marshal resources if local officials report any problems.
A December storm dropped nearly two feet of snow in Philadelphia, which planned to declare a snow emergency at 8 p.m. Friday. Cars cannot be parked on certain streets after that time.
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Associated Press writers Marc Levy in Harrisburg and Dan Nephin in Pittsburgh contributed to this story.
