Schools closed early and the federal government told employees they had to leave work no later than 1 p.m. EST Tuesday as snow spread across Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia.

Multiple tractor-trailer accidents caused long backups on Interstate 81 in Virginia’s Botetourt and Roanoke counties.

Accidents also were reported on westbound I-64, northwest of Lexington, Virginia, and on stretches of U.S. 501 and U.S. 220.

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West Virginia Transportation Department officials reported accidents on Interstates 77 and 79 and on I-64. Snow was on the roadway on I-64.

(MORE: LifeFlight Helicopter Deployed to Snowy Interstate Pileup)

The Maryland Department of Transportation warned that conditions near I-95 could deteriorate later Tuesday afternoon.

Many county school districts in Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia either canceled classes Tuesday or had early dismissal.

Federal employees in the Washington D.C. area were told to leave work four hours early because of the approaching snow. Federal offices were to close at 1 p.m., the Washington Post reported.

A quick-moving low-pressure system is expected to produce about an inch or two of snow in parts of the mid-Atlantic on Tuesday, weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman said. It should zip off the New England coast by early Wednesday, then intensify over the Canadian Maritimes, he added.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.