Visitors walk through the 9/11 Memorial in New York during a snowfall, Thursday Nov. 15, 2018. One of the first big storms of the season moved across the eastern half of the country Thursday, causing... (Associated Press) 
 
 Visitors walk through the 9/11 Memorial in New York during a snowfall, Thursday Nov. 15, 2018. One of the first big storms of the season moved across the eastern half of the country Thursday, causing deadly traffic crashes and closing schools. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) (Associated Press) 
 
 TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The first snowfall of the season lingered Friday in the Northeast as thousands of exhausted commuters pointed their fingers at politicians and meteorologists for leaving them creeping along highways or stuck in mass transit hubs because of a storm that left seven dead as it moved through the Midwest and South. 
 
 Some students in West Orange, New Jersey, were forced to sleep at their schools after their buses turned back, while others were taken to a diner to eat because snow-covered roads were clogged with traffic Thursday. 
 
 "Students are safe in their schools with teachers and staff. They have eaten dinner and are preparing to get some rest," a district alert said. 
 
 They were not alone in finding the ride home difficult. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie tweeted it took him nearly six hours to travel a distance that normally would take 45 minutes. 
 
 Bridges and major roads in the New York metropolitan area reopened Friday after many closures caused by crashes during Thursday's storm. 
 
 Some drivers woke up in their cars Friday morning after being stuck overnight on the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx. Accidents on the George Washington Bridge halted traffic on the crossing and led to backups in New York and New Jersey. 
 
 New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he understands why people are frustrated that city officials were caught off guard by a snowstorm that stranded some New Yorkers in their cars for hours. 
 
 De Blasio said on New York 1 Friday that the city "will do a full review of what happened here." 
 
 A mayoral spokesman said the early storm meant that Metropolitan Transportation Authority didn't have snow chains on its buses. He said many of them had to pull over, "further clogging streets." 
 
 New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who tweeted the storm was worse than forecast, was slated to hold a briefing Friday. 
 
 NJ Transit bus passengers were told to expect substantial delays and cancellations Friday because many drivers, who inched their vehicles in the snow and ice, worked past their normal schedules and federal law mandated a rest period for them. 
 
 The delays for buses caused a logjam of commuters Thursday, forcing officials to close the doors at New York's Port Authority Bus Terminal. 
 
 The wintry weather caused a traffic nightmare on a 30-mile stretch of Interstate 78 in Pennsylvania, with numerous vehicles stuck for several hours from the Lehigh Valley to the New Jersey state line. Police sometimes drove on the opposite side of highway, honking their horns to wake up drivers who had fallen asleep. 
 
 About 105,000 homes and businesses were without power Friday in Pennsylvania, mostly in the western part of the state. 
 
 Some areas of Massachusetts received more than nine inches of snow in the storm, which turned to rain overnight to complicate the morning commute. 
 
 The towns of Topsfield, Carlisle and Billerica, northwest of Boston, were among the towns that got more than nine inches of snow, the National Weather Service said. Boston got less than three inches. 
 
 State police said a stretch of the Massachusetts Turnpike east was closed Friday morning after several tractor-trailer crashes. 
 
 Many schools in northern New England were delayed or closed after the region saw anywhere from four to eight inches of snow. Interstate speeds in New Hampshire and Maine were lowered to 45 mph. 
 
 Schools were closed or were opening with delays in upstate New York, including in the Albany and Syracuse areas. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writers Karen Matthews in New York, Bob Salsberg in Boston, Kathy McCormack in Concord, N.H., and Bruce Shipkowski in Trenton, N.J., contributed to this story. ||||| (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.
– The first snowfall of the season lingered Friday in the Northeast as thousands of exhausted commuters pointed their fingers at politicians and meteorologists for leaving them creeping along highways or stuck in mass transit hubs because of a surprise storm, per the AP. The storm left seven dead as it moved through the Midwest and South. Some students in West Orange, New Jersey, were forced to sleep at their schools after their buses turned back, while others were taken to a diner to eat because snow-covered roads were clogged with traffic Thursday. In fact, State Police in New Jersey responded to 555 vehicle crashes and aided 1,027 motorists, reports CNN. Bridges and major roads in the New York metropolitan area reopened Friday after many closures caused by crashes during Thursday's storm. Some drivers woke up in their cars Friday morning after being stuck overnight on the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx. Accidents on the George Washington Bridge halted traffic on the crossing and led to backups in New York and New Jersey. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he understands people are frustrated that city officials were caught off guard by the storm and promised "a full review of what happened here." A mayoral spokesman said the early storm meant that Metropolitan Transportation Authority didn't have snow chains on its buses. He said many of them had to pull over, "further clogging streets." The delays for buses created a logjam, forcing officials to close the doors Thursday at New York's Port Authority Bus Terminal. (The opposite coast is reeling, too. Read the latest on the California fires here.)