Eastern U.S. braces for winter's first blast of snow and ice

After winter weather caused crashes and closed schools in Missouri, dumped more than a foot of snow in Iowa and left drivers struggling to see in Buffalo, New York, the East Coast is bracing for its own dangerous winter weather Tuesday

After winter weather caused crashes and closed schools in Missouri, dumped more than a foot of snow in Iowa and left drivers struggling to see in Buffalo, New York, the East Coast is bracing for its own dangerous winter weather Tuesday.

A storm system stretching from the Rockies to Rhode Island is impacting more than 80 million people in the United States.

It is a snowy, messy Tuesday morning commute along the Interstate 95 corridor from Syracuse to Washington, as ice hits the Appalachians and heavy thunderstorms plague the Southeast, with 51 million under winter weather advisories or storm warnings.

Heavy snow, with rates of 1 inch per hour, will move through the Ohio Valley and into the interior Northeast on Tuesday morning. By Tuesday afternoon, the heaviest snow will be in northern New York and New England, while gusty winds and rain will be left behind along the East Coast.

Up to a foot of snow is expected in some parts of Maine, and the interior Northeast into New England will see heavy snowfall of 6 to 10 inches, with up to 12 inches locally through Wednesday morning.