Snow falls in New York as snow, rains hit swaths of US

Snow is beginning to fall in New York City, and schools in several parts of the U.S. are closing or delaying their starts amid predictions for storms and messy afternoon commutes.

The Washington area airports are experiencing significant cancelations. FlightAware.com shows Reagan National Airport leading the pack Wednesday morning, with 37 percent of departures and 33 percent of arrivals canceled.

Snow forced Minneapolis and St. Paul schools and scores of other districts in Minnesota and Wisconsin to cancel classes Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Northern Arizona is bracing for heavy snowfall in the coming days.

Heavy rains are also causing problems in parts of the Deep South. Flood watches and warnings cover the northern parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia, and nearly all of Tennessee is at risk for floods.