New York, D.C. and Boston are being hit by up to 22 inches of snow JFK airport is currently closed due to the snowstorm; limited flights resuming at Boston Logan 4,000 flights canceled on Thursday and Friday across the U.S. Warnings plummeting temperatures and wind chills below zero could freeze exposed skin within 15 minutes Man died outside Philadelphia when 100ft pile of salt fell on him as he prepared it for gritters 'Ready for whatever hits us': New NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio remained confident in first test since taking office Outreach teams looked to get homeless people off the frigid streets of New York City and Boston By Louise Boyle and Alex Ward and Michael Zennie A blustering winter storm that dropped nearly 2 feet of snow just north of Boston, shut down major highways in New York and Pennsylvania and forced U.S. airlines to cancel thousands of flights nationwide menaced the Northeast on Friday with howling winds and frigid temperatures. The brutal weather - which brought plummeting temperatures to some areas that forecasters predicted could see highs just above zero and wind chill readings of minus 10 degrees and colder by early on Friday - dumped 21 inches of snow in Boxford, Massachusetts, by late Thursday and 18 inches in parts of western New York near Rochester. Up to 7 inches fell in New York City by Friday morning. The snowfall, frigid cold and stiff winds extended the holiday break for some students for a second day while posing the first test for New York City's new mayor and perhaps the last challenge for Boston's outgoing one. U.S. airlines canceled around 4,000 flights because of the snowfall and low visibility. Water floods a yard along the shore in Scituate, Massachusetts today after winter storm Hercules dumped almost two feet of snow on the region Feeling lucky? Two passengers walk to Newark Airport in New Jersey where there have been major delays and cancellations following a huge storm Houses line a flooded street along the shore in Scituate, Massachusetts on Friday as a winter storm dropped nearly 2 feet of snow just north of Boston, shut down major highways in New York and Pennsylvania and forced U.S. airlines to cancel thousands of flights nationwide Snow makes it way down to the platform of the 65th Street subway station during a winter storm in New York A woman peeks from under an umbrella as snowstorm Hercules slams into Boston, leaving up to two feet of snow in some parts Leo Lajqi, of New York, blows snow off a sidewalk in Brooklyn (pictured left). Public schools were closed after up to 7 inches of snow fell by morning in the first snowstorm of the winter. A worker clears snow from a stairway at the Astoria Blvd subway station in the Queens borough of New York early on Friday morning (right) Lower Manhattan was covered in glistening white snow at 7am on Friday morning as a resident shoveled before dawn in the Soho neighborhood The winter storm has spread from coast to coast affecting 100million Americans 'It's been a tough road,' traveler Heather Krochuk, of Toronto, Canada, said inside a Boston hotel on Thursday night after her flight home out of Logan International Airport got canceled in what's turned into a 36-hour trip from Seattle, where she spent Christmas with her husband, Ron. But, she said: 'We have a place to sleep that isn't the airport.' Snow began falling overnight Wednesday in parts of New England and New York state, but the brunt of the storm began late on Thursday. The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for Cape Cod, coastal areas north and south of Boston and part of Maine as well as New York's Long Island. Heavy machinery clears the snow at LaGuardia Airport in New York City. Thousands of flights were canceled over Thursday and Friday A passenger stranded at the Reagan National Airport in DC on January 2 waits for news of his flight after thousands were canceled Thick blankets of snow cover cars in a parking lot in Rochester, New York overnight on Thursday Forecasters warned that gusts of up to 30 miles per hour could bring wind chills to minus 25 degrees, cold enough to cause frostbite in about 30 minutes or less. The weather service said people should dress warmly to avoid hypothermia and cover all exposed skin. Governors in New York and New Jersey declared states of emergency, urging residents to stay home. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said state offices that closed early Thursday would remain closed Friday. He said National Guard members and state police were on standby for any high tide flooding in vulnerable coastal areas, but no mandatory evacuations had been ordered. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered three major highways in his state, stretching from Long Island to Albany, closed overnight. The Thruway between Albany and the Bronx reopened for passenger vehicles at 5 a.m. Friday and was scheduled to reopen to commercial vehicles at 8am. A man clears snow from a sidewalk in Brooklyn following a snow storm which forced New York City public schools to close and shut down the Long Island Expressway New York City Firefighters dig out of their firehouse in Brooklyn following snow storm Hercules A man and his dog contend with blowing snow in Brooklyn following a snow storm that left up to 8 inches while a man digs out his car as commuters were warned to take extra care on the roads Snowmen sit in front of the Capitol in Washington after a winter snow storm bored down on the nation's capital New York's Mayor Bill de Blasio shovels snow The U.S. Capitol is seen early morning as snow falls on January 3 in Washington D.C as part of winter storm Hercules The Soho neighborhood of New York (pictured left) and Washington Square Park (right) glistens under a blanket of snow early on Friday morning Traffic crawls through the wind and snow on the RFK Bridge in New York on Friday following the massive snowstorm overnight in the Northeast Pedestrians stand in the snow at 7th Avenue on Times Square in New York City on Thursday evening Workers shovel snow to clear the path from commuters in front of the Staten Island Ferry terminal in lower Manhattan Tourists enjoy the snow on Broadway at Times Square on Thursday evening. Up to seven inches of snow fell overnight across New York City Douglass Bibule shopped for rock salt and other supplies at a home improvement store in Watertown, New York. "Well, there will be some shoveling that I will have to do and some sanding," he said. 'I've got to go home and do some stretching exercises to make sure I don't hurt myself while doing that, and do a little shopping to make sure that we have all the supplies that we need. We need food because we have three older children at home. The snowstorm worked its way east from the Midwest, where it dropped up to a foot of snow on Michigan and more than a foot in parts of Illinois, prompting the cancellation Thursday of hundreds of flights at both Chicago airports. Nearly 17 inches of snow fell in some of Chicago's northern suburbs, and more than 12 inches of snow was recorded at Midway International Airport. Crash: The snow and frigid cold made roads dangerous through the Midwest and Northeast. Here, an SUV is seen after crashing near Kalamazoo, Michigan on Thursday A vehicle landed upside down after spinning out of control on Interstate 295 during a snowstorm, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014, in Portland, Maine Milo Bloom, 10, skis over a snowbank next to a parked car in Portland, Maine on Thursday, a happy example of making negatives into positives amidst all the fears surrounding winter storm Hercules 'I love New York 2.1.14' is drawn into the snow during winter storm 'Hercules' in lower Manhattan January 2, 2014 in New York City as tourists brave the cold to photograph the Brooklyn Bridge Winter scene: Cars are seen driving up First Avenue in Lower Manhattan in New York last night