New Haven, Conn. (WTNH) - Clearing skies are giving some Connecticut residents a chance to begin digging out after today's massive snow, while others are watching and waiting for it to end. 
 
 As much as two feet of snow or more socked towns in the state, and it was possible some places might see isolated measurements of 30 inches. 
 
 "I wouldn't be surprised if we get a 30+ inch report," Storm Team 8 Meteorologist Gil Simmons said. Some of the intense snow bands were now expected to linger past 1:00 p.m., Simmons said. 
 
 The National Weather Service officially recorded 29.5" of snow in North Haven. There was an unofficial NWS report of 28 inches at the ski area in Woodbury, 22.5" in Woodbury, and 22 in New Milford. 
 
 The storm center was moving further away from Connecticut, and scattered snow showers were expected past 5:00 p.m. "10:00 o'clock -- it's out of here. Slow clearing overnight," Simmons said. 
 
 The snow played havoc with state roads and highways. I-95 in the Westport/Fairfield area was closed for hours because of the storm. Other accidents, spinouts and stalls caused congestion on the highways and secondary roads. Speaking on Good Morning Connecticut Wednesday, State police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance said troopers had responded to more than 500 calls for assistance from stuck motorists. 
 
 Officials from Gov. Dannel Malloy on down to city and town leaders urged residents to stay home and avoid the roads so Department of Transportation and local Public Works crews could go their jobs. 
 
 "I gotta tell you -- if you're coming out of your driveway and you don't have a four-wheel drive that's really good with good tires, you're probably gonna get stuck," Gov. Malloy said at a Noon hour news conference to talk about the storm. 
 
 "Let us do our job. Let us clean the roads. We're doing a remarkable job on the major roads, the highways," the governor said. 
 
 The governor earlier told all non-essential first shift workers to stay home. He also advised private-sector businesses to follow the state's lead and be flexible in allowing workers to stay home. 
 
 City leaders in many towns, including Bridgeport, also declared snow emergencies. Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch said "roads are not passable." He had a plow truck take him to the city's emergency Operations Center this morning. 
 
 Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton issued a Level 3 emergency Wednesday morning, ordering all cars off the roads. "City of Danbury is closed. The entire city. Period.", he said in a message on Twitter. 
 
 In New Haven, Mayor John DeStefano said City Hall would not open until Noon. Mayor DeStefano said secondary roads in the city were difficult to navigate. 
 
 Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra said on Twitter his city of working with state officials to expedite clean-up efforts. "Essential that residents not drive in this challenging weather," the mayor said. 
 
 Metro-North temporarily suspended service between Stamford and New Haven due to a disabled train at Bridgeport. The commuter line was already operating trains on a Sunday schedule today, and temporarily suspended service on the Danbury and Waterbury Branch because of the storm. Amtrak had problems of its own when a tree knocked out electrical wires in Massachusetts, knocking out Acela and Northeast Regional train service between New York City and Boston. 
 
 At Bradley International Airport, spokesman John Wallace said the airport is in a "Planned Closure" state and there is no commercial plane activity. They are keeping the main runway open for emergencies. 
 
 When the snow ends expect very cold nights to follow. We could see overnight temperatures down into the single digits Thursday night and Friday night. 
 
 Gov. Malloy said his favorite stuck vehicle was a private plow truck. When the operator got stuck, he got out the snowblower he was carrying in the back of his truck and began to dig himself out. 
 
 Looking on the bright side of the day, the governor said "this is agreat day to be making grilled cheese sandwiches, and Campbells tomato soup is a good combination so I would recommend that to everybody." ||||| (CNN) A strong wintry storm still was dumping snow Friday in far northern New England after creating traffic havoc that claimed at least eight lives across the country's eastern half and knocked out power for tens of thousands of people. 
 
 A mix of rain, snow and ice that initially hit the Midwest caused headaches from the South to the Northeast, leaving up to a foot of snow in some parts of the latter and widespread freezing rain and ice accumulations elsewhere. Conditions prompted school closures, hours-long delays for commuters and hundreds of flight cancellations. 
 
 Pedestrians push through a wintry mix of snow and ice Thursday in New York. 
 
 About 200,000 customers in four states were without power at 6 p.m. ET Friday, according to Poweroutage.us, in part due to freezing rain. 
 
 The snow in the Northeast was expected to end Saturday morning, though gusty winds and coastal flooding will continue, the National Weather Service said . Another cold front will drop additional snowfall from the Great Lakes to the New England interior through Sunday. 
 
 Weather-related deaths 
 
 The wintry weather contributed to traffic crashes that killed people in several states, authorities said. 
 
 A 60-year-old woman died Thursday in Miami County, Indiana, after she lost control of her vehicle and crashed in slick road conditions, the state's police said. 
 
 One person was also killed Thursday in Canton, Ohio, and another in Maryland, police said. 
 
 In Mississippi, a tour bus crashed Wednesday , killing two people and wounding several others. The bus, carrying 46 people, was traveling from Huntsville, Alabama, to Tunica, Mississippi, Sgt. Joseph Miller of the Mississippi Highway Patrol said. 
 
 The other occupants were taken to area hospitals with various injuries, Miller said. The cause of the crash was weather-related. 
 
 Arkansas Highway Patrol reported two separate incidents in which three people were killed after drivers lost control of cars on icy roads. 
 
 Traffic nightmare, airport delays in New York area 
 
 For hours Thursday, crashes left drivers stuck on the George Washington Bridge, which connects Upper Manhattan and northern New Jersey. 
 
 New Jersey State Police responded to 555 motor vehicle crashes and helped 1,027 motorists, the agency said. 
 
 "If you don't have to go out, please stay home so road crews can treat the roads," police said. "If you have to go out, please drive slowly and allow for more time to get where you are going." 
 
 The storm generally snarled traffic Thursday evening in the New York City area, with about 6 inches of snow accumulating around Central Park and in Newark, New Jersey, the National Weather Service said. 
 
 More than 8,200 flight delays and 1,900-plus cancellations were reported Thursday in the United States, flight-tracking site FlightAware.com reported. Newark Liberty International appeared the most affected, with more than 470 cancellations and more than 340 delays for flights to or from that site. 
 
 Scores of would-be passengers stood in line for hours Thursday night and Friday morning at a Newark airport terminal, waiting to adjust travel arrangements, traveler Pankaj Trivedi said. 
 
 "Bring more staff to help. There are many seniors & kids," Trivedi posted on Twitter, along with pictures of the lines. 
 
 at Newark airport Hundreds of passengers standing in queue for the last 7 hours waiting for their turn to cancel/renew tickets. Flights were cancelled by bad weather. There are 4 staff members to attend. Bring more staff to help. There are many seniors & kids #unitedAIRLINES pic.twitter.com/VMO234kih9 — PANKAJ TRIVEDI (@PankajTri29) November 16, 2018 
 
 US flight delays (5,597) and cancellations (717) were fewer by Friday evening, according to FlightAware.com. 
 
 The weather forced long waits Thursday night at Manhattan's Port Authority Bus Terminal. The terminal, near Times Square, was packed with commuters waiting for buses that struggled to access the site. 
 
 Ajoy Singha said it took him four hours to get from Manhattan to his home across the Hudson River in Jersey City, starting with a lengthy wait at the bus terminal. He ended up abandoning the terminal to take a PATH train and an Uber ride home, he said. 
 
 For those requesting to use videos in news sites, here is the unedited full length video. Feel free to use it with credit. #NewYorkSnow pic.twitter.com/VvyITfrSXx — Ajoy Singha (@AjoySingha) November 16, 2018 
 
 New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said the strength of the snowstorm took the city by surprise. 
 
 "We're going to be more conservative going forward, but the real key here is, had we had better (forecast) information, we would have told people to stay home and cleared the roads," de Blasio told NY1 on Friday morning. 
 
 "But in the end, there's also going to be times when Mother Nature is just stronger than us, and sometimes we're going to be playing catchup. And this was certainly one of those times." 
 
 New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Friday the storm was a "regional nightmare," and state Department of Transportation Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti offered "our apologies to all of our New Jerseyans who last night experienced a really rough commute home." 
 
 "We got behind the storm. I realize that," she said. 
 
 Students forced to wait in schools 
 
 In Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, some school buses couldn't get students all the way home Thursday because of road closures and "unsafe travel conditions." 
 
 Drivers were forced to take them back to schools in the Elizabeth Area School District , where they were kept in a "shelter-like environment" until parents could pick them up. 
 
 The schools operated on a two-hour delay Friday, the district said.
– While the Northeast digs itself out from under historic snowfall, a major storm hit the Upper Midwest today with 8 to 15 inches of snow, CNN reports. The new snowstorm struck seven states but targeted Minnesota and the Dakotas in particular. Meanwhile, heavy rain drenched much of the Southeast, prompting flood watches from central Georgia to southeastern Louisiana up to tomorrow afternoon. In other storm news: At least 15 tornadoes appeared in southern Alabama and Mississippi yesterday. One wreaked havoc in Hattiesburg, Miss., injuring at least 13 and striking a main street. Nearly 140,000 still lack power in New England and New York, where many schools are still closed, the AP reports. Crews have cleared most major highways, but many secondary roads remain unusable under ice and snow. In hard-hit Bridgeport, Conn., about 10% to 20% of the 30-inch snowfall has been plowed, says Mayor Bill Finch. And Bridgeport is not alone: "I've talked to other mayors; we're all buried," he says. A new concern: roof collapses as warmer daytime temperatures soothe Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy reported several cases of buildings caving in. What's more, rain will lay the groundwork for frozen roads when temperatures fall below freezing overnight. Click for more from the AP or CNN.