Heavy snow bookended the United States on Tuesday, with a late-season storm bringing a messy morning commute to the Northeast and leaving California residents to dig out, or in some cases simply wait for help, after yet another storm.

Hundreds of schools across southern New England either closed for the day or delayed opening as the most significant snowfall of what has been a mild winter hit overnight. As much as 7 or 8 inches of snow blanketed some communities by sunrise.

“We’ve had no winter until now,” said Harry Craven, the owner of Highland True Value Hardware and Bike Shop in Holyoke, Massachusetts. “But we’ve had people coming in the last couple days for ice melt and shovels, some people this morning looking for parts to do repairs on snowblowers. By our standards this hasn’t been a blockbuster storm, but I’m happy with it.”

Most flight cancellations or delays were concentrated in the Northeast. There were over 470 flight cancellations in the U.S. and more than 900 delays by midmorning, according to FlightAware.com.

A winter storm warning covered parts of the Northeast, including New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island, with heavy snow forecast through Tuesday afternoon.

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