BOSTON (AP) - Snow began falling across the Northeast on Friday, ushering in what was predicted to be a huge, possibly historic blizzard and sending residents scurrying to stock up on food and gas up their cars. The storm could dump 1 to 3 feet of snow from New York City to Boston and beyond. Even before the first snowflake had fallen, Boston, Providence, R.I., Hartford, Conn., and other towns and cities in New England and upstate New York towns canceled school Friday, and airlines scratched more than 3,700 flights through Saturday, with the disruptions certain to ripple across the U.S. Boston could get 2 to 3 feet of snow, while New York City was expecting 10 to 14 inches. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick banned all traffic from roads after 4 p.m., believed to be the state's first such ban since the blizzard of 1978. In the southeastern Massachusetts town of Whitman, where up to 2½ feet of snow was forecast, public works crews were clearing crosswalk signs, trash barrels and anything else that might impede plows later in the day. "We've had instances where they have predicted something big and it's petered out," said Dennis Smith, a public works employee. There are no snowbanks so we will have a place to put it," Trumbull said. Snow was being blamed for a 19-car pileup in Maine Friday morning in Cumberland, as 6 inches blanketed the area. A New Jersey town hit hard by Superstorm Sandy issued a voluntary evacuation order for areas that are still recovering from that storm. Residents in flood-prone sections of Brick Township were also urged to move their cars to higher ground by 5 p.m. Amtrak suspended train service between New York and Boston in the afternoon. Airlines canceled at least 3,775 flights ahead of the storm, according to airline tracking website FlightAware. At New York City's three main airports, most U.S. airlines planned to suspend operations between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., resuming after noon on Saturday, FlightAware said. At Boston's Logan and other New England airports, most airlines were to cease operations between noon and 4 p.m. This is a storm of major proportions," Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said Friday. Stay home. Mary Anne DiBello was stocking up her cart as the snow began to fall. "Now I think I'm going to be stuck with them until I bring them to school on Monday," she said.