Albany, N.Y. ? A powerful storm moving up the East Coast dumped a dangerous mix of freezing rain and snow across much of the Northeast on Friday, snarling traffic and giving thousands of schoolchildren an early start on the weekend.

The nor’easter — characterized by northeast winds of 15 mph to 20 mph — was expected to bring up to 2 feet of snow to New York’s Catskills mountains and the Berkshires in western Massachusetts, the National Weather Service said. Heavy snowfall also was forecast for parts of Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.

Many areas were still digging out from a Christmas Day storm that knocked out power to thousands of people.

“I’ve had my white Christmas, and that’s enough,” said Tom Guilianelli, 33, filling up his delivery truck at a gas station in suburban Albany.

At least three deaths were blamed on the latest storm. Two people died in separate traffic accidents in Connecticut, and the New Jersey State Police said a man was killed jumping off an elevated highway to avoid an out-of-control truck.

The storm began lashing the region with rain and blustery wind late Thursday and the rain turned to snow as temperatures fell Friday. Dozens of accidents were reported on highways across the region; some roads were flooded by rain.

“We definitely have our work cut out for us,” said Tom Daly, storm monitor with the Connecticut Department of Transportation. “It’s slippery going out there.”

Airports serving Hartford, Conn., and Albany canceled about 10 flights each Friday.

Some flights into and out of Newark Liberty International Airport were delayed up to six hours.