© The Associated Press / Julio CortezA jack-o-lantern is covered with snow during a rare October snowstorm that hit the Northern New Jersey region, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011, in North Bergen, N.J. A classic nor'easter is moving along the East Coast and is expected to dump anywhere from a dusting of snow to about 10 inches throughout the region starting Saturday, a decidedly unseasonal date for a type of storm more associated with midwinter.
Communities inland in mid-Atlantic states were getting hit hardest. Cherry Grove, W.Va., on the edge of the Monongahela National Forest, already got 4 inches of snow overnight, according to the National Weather Service. Heavy snow was falling in western Maryland, and the Frostburg area could receive 8 or 9 inches. Along the Blue Ridge Mountains between Hagerstown and Frederick, significant snowfall was also expected.
Tens of thousands lost power in Pennsylvania, and utilities were bringing in crews from Ohio and Kentucky to help. Officials warned that the heavy, wet snow combined with fully leafed trees could lead to downed tree branches and power lines, resulting in power outages and blocked roads.
A steady midday heavy snow pelted the field at Beaver Stadium in State College, where No. 21 Penn State was to host Illinois. Mother Nature cooperated with calls for a "whiteout," in which fans wear all white to the game in an occasional tradition for big games at the school. A few hours before the midafternoon kickoff, about 3 inches had already fallen.
The heaviest snow, though, was forecast for later in the day into Sunday in the Massachusetts Berkshires, the Litchfield Hills in northwestern Connecticut, southwestern New Hampshire and the southern Green Mountains.
"It's going to be wet, sticky and gloppy," said NWS spokesman Chris Vaccaro. "It's not going to be a dry, fluffy snow."
