A winter storm that brought snow, sleet and freezing rain to a large swath of the Midwest swept into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Thursday, snarling commutes in major cities including Chicago, Cleveland and New York.

Of all the precipitation types, freezing rain is by most measures the worst because it can weigh heavily on trees and power lines.

A winter weather advisory is set to go into effect Wednesday night ahead of snow, sleet, ice and eventually rain that will make the Thursday morning commute a mess. The advisory is for the entire tri-state area,