Niko Snowfall Totals And Pictures 2017: New York City, Boston, Philadelphia Hit Hard By February Storm

The East Coast was pounded by winter storm Niko Thursday morning and the precipitation was not expected to let up for most of the day. Schools and some businesses in major cities shut down as they braced for crippling amounts of snow.

In New York City, the snow was coming down in bunches, with the total accumulation figure in the Big Apple expected to be some eight to 12 inches. At least a few inches had already piled up by about 9 a.m. EDT. Before the morning rush, certain subway lines were already experiencing service delays or stoppages, reported the New York Times. There was even the possibility of thunder snow in the city and just outside the five boroughs, in Suffolk County on Long Island, a blizzard warning was in place with some 12 to 16 inches of snow expected, accompanied with wind gusts up to 50 milers per hour.

Most of the New York Metro Area, including North Jersey and parts of Connecticut, could see up to a foot snow Thursday. The snow was less extreme around Philadelphia. It was expected some Philly-region areas could see up to half a foot, while others could see just a couple of inches. The Philadelphia Inquirer was keeping a live blog of Philly-area snow totals here. As of about 9 a.m. EST Thursday morning Sellersville, Pennsylvania, in Bucks County had the highest morning total at 4.5 inches.

Boston's snow totals were expected to be similar to those in the New York City area. Most of the greater Boston-area could expect at least a foot of snow with likely blizzard conditions on South Shore and Cape Cod. Most of Massachusetts was bracing itself for some 12 to 18 inches of snow.

Along with making travel difficult, the snow could take out folks' power in patches across the East Coast.

"The wet, clinging nature of the snow will weigh down tree limbs and could lead to sporadic power outages," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Henry Margusity.