NEW YORK (1010 WINS/AP)  -- A mixture of snow and freezing rain caused problems Wednesday morning for commuters and many school districts in the northern suburbs either canceled classes or delayed their openings.

The snow, and rain caused large puddles and flooding on area roadways.

The storm arrived Tuesday afternoon with snow, that caused very slippery driving conditions. Yonkers police reported more than 70 accidents in an eight hour span.

Dozens of accidents and cars sliding off the road were reported in Rockland County. One of the most serious was a driver in a Ford Explorer - SUV- slid into a utility pole on Route 59 in Central Nyack. The driver was taken to the hospital.

A number of fender-benders and spin-outs forced the Saw Mill River Parkway to be closed Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. near the Thruway Interchange.

Foreman Bernie Hughes at the Rockland County Highway Department says the rain Wednesday morning is melting the snow from Tuesday, and covering catch basins and sewer drains.

He says highway crews are out Wednesday morning uncovering the basins, that get blocked up with slush.

Airport Delays

The bad weather also has affected traffic on the ground. The New York Police Department says the icy roads are causing vehicle accidents.

Meanwhile in New Jersey...

Tuesday's snow and ice gave way to rain and slush across much of New Jersey on Wednesday, making travel hazardous for a second day and prompting flood warnings as streams rose in the northern part of the state.

Ice remained a problem in the state's far northwest corner, as nearly 20,000 utility customers in Sussex County were without power late Wednesday afternoon.

Since the storm system blew into the state Tuesday afternoon, parts of North Jersey received more than 2 inches of precipitation, said Lee Robertson, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service's Mount Holly office. Another inch or more was possible before the storm moves out overnight, possibly ending in a period of snow, the weather service said.

Most of the southern part of the state was spared flooding worries because it only saw about an inch of rain since Tuesday, Robertson said.

Highways in the northern part of the state continued to pose trouble for drivers, with New Jersey State Police receiving reports of 31 accidents between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m, according to Sgt. Stephen Jones. State Police responded to more than 1,000 reports of accidents in the last 24 hours, Jones said.

By late afternoon, some roads were still closed due to flooding, Jones said, including Exit 3 of Route 287 in Edison Township, westbound Route 78 in Union County's Springfield and state Route 10 in Randolph Township, Morris County.

After some delays in the morning, NJ Transit was running smoothly by Wednesday afternoon, according to spokesman Dan Stessel. Trains and buses, which had been subject to local road conditions and detours in the morning, were operating on or close to schedule.

A shuttle train that runs between Princeton and Princeton Junction was down for some time in the morning, but buses ran in its place until service was restored shortly after noon, Stessel said.

Motorists and commuters were not the only ones experiencing storm-related problems.

In Clinton Township, a ceiling partially collapsed from rain leaking onto the roof of North Hunterdon Municipal Court, but no injuries were reported.

About 18,000 Jersey Central Power & Light customers, most in Sussex County, were without power Wednesday afternoon, according to northern division spokesman Stan Prater. Crews were working to restore power to them by midnight, Prater added.

PSE&G, the state's largest electric utility, had more than 2,000 customers without power at mid-afternoon, according to spokeswoman Patty Johnson.

Rockland Electric, which serves a small part of northern New Jersey, had less than 40 without power, spokesman Mike Donavan said. In southern New Jersey, Atlantic City Electric had less than 200 customers without power.

The weather also caused delays at Newark Liberty International Airport, where some arriving flights were as much as 1 hour late.

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Photos taken by Jim Powers