Sign up for the Morning Brief email newsletter to get weekday updates from The Weather Channel and our meteorologists.A​ winter storm covered cities in ice and snow, shut down schools, snarled air travel and made for a dicey commute along major metropolitan corridors from the Midwest into the Northeast Thursday.

Snow will fall from Minnesota to Maine, with heavy amounts probably falling from Wisconsin to Massachusetts. Freezing rain and sleet will also be a big issue, especially south of Interstate 80 from Ohio through New Jersey.

ARLINGTON, Va. − A wall of snow, ice and rain was sweeping across the Northeast on Thursday, the first in a series of storms forecast to wallop much of the nation's northern tier over the next several days.